Jon Pearce, Member of Parliament for High Peak, visited the Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages bottling site in Buxton for the first time since his appointment in 2024. Mr Pearce was hosted at the site by Hannah Phillips, the Factory Manager, and Stefano Bolognese, who was recently appointed as Managing Director for the business in the UK.
The visit included a guided tour of the site, where Buxton natural mineral water and Nestlé Pure Life spring water are bottled at source. During the tour, Mr Pearce had the opportunity to talk to factory employees and learn more about the work the company is doing across responsible water stewardship as well as supporting the local community.
Operating in the heart of the Peak District, more than 200 employees make up the Waters & Premium Beverages site in Buxton, with 63 per cent of employees living locally.
Hannah Phillips, Factory Manager of the Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages site in Buxton, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Mr Pearce to the Buxton site. The visit was a great opportunity to highlight how we are investing in people and building competency through a number of initiatives, including apprentice and graduate programmes. We proudly showed Mr Pearce around our state-of-the-art bottling plant and automated distribution centre, dedicated to improving our efficiencies. We are passionate at Buxton to build inclusive and diverse teams, focused on delighting our consumers so they can enjoy our products all over the UK.”
Nestlé aims to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, and good water stewardship is supporting this journey. In 2021, the Buxton site achieved the Alliance for Water Stewardship certification at the highest available, platinum level, recognising the site’s dedication to responsible water management and collaboration on shared needs of the water catchment area. In 2024, the site was recertified at platinum level.
Stefano Bolognese, Managing Director of Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UK, added: “Our team in Buxton work hard to invest time and resources into this area, and it was a pleasure to showcase this to Mr Pearce. This includes working with local organisations, such as the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, to regenerate and protect local land, and re-route the River Ecclesbourne back to its original channel to promote biodiversity. Working with the Moors for the Future Partnership, we’ve supported enhancing Combs Moss peatland to slow the flow of water from the moor and help mitigate the risk of flooding downstream. These are really great examples of the work we’re doing to help achieve a positive water impact where we operate.”
Jon Pearce, Member of Parliament for High Peak, said: “I drive past the site every week so it was great to actually go inside. Nestlé is such an important local employer - being the custodians of our great Buxton water. Visiting the plant gives you a whole new perspective on the scale and precision that goes into producing something we often take for granted. It was fascinating to see the technology at work and hearing directly from the staff about their roles and experiences. Their focus on local employment and their support for apprenticeships and graduate programmes is really welcome. It was also great to hear about their commitment to the local community and to conserving water through projects like the collaboration with Moors for the Future Partnership on Combs Moss.”
Image, left to right: Jon Pearce, Member of Parliament for High Peak; Hannah Phillips, Factory Manager; Stefano Bolognese, Managing Director, Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UK