Teaching Note: “Greenwashing” or shared value: Nestle and the Punjab water crisis

Nestle’s bottled water operations in Punjab, Pakistan, became a focus of national controversy over environmental and ethical concerns. Launched in 1998 as a solution to Pakistan’s unsafe public drinking water, Nestle Pure Life quickly gained market dominance. However, the company was accused by communities, activists and the media of worsening the regional water crisis by extracting vast quantities of groundwater in water-stressed areas, particularly near its Sheikhupura and Kabirwala plants. Reports and a 2018 forensic audit revealed that Nestle had paid negligible fees for extracting 4.43 billion liters between 2013 and 2017 and wasted nearly 43% of the water during...