Nestlé Waters to pay €2m fine and avoid trial

Nestlé Waters will not go to court. The group, which was the subject of two preliminary investigations for illegal drilling and deception, will pay a fine of 2 million euros after concluding a public interest judicial agreement (CJIP) with the Epinal prosecutor’s office on Tuesday, September 10.

The company that owns the Vittel, Perrier, Contrex, Hépar and San Pellegrino brands must pay this fine within three months, stated the Epinal prosecutor Frédéric Nahon in a press release, announcing the conclusion of this CJIP, “the most important environmental agreement signed to date in France”.

The subsidiary of the Swiss group Nestlé has also committed to “repairing the ecological impact by implementing an ambitious renaturation and restoration plan” of two rivers, the Petit-Vair and the Vair, and the restoration of wetlands located in the territory of Vittel and Contrexéville. This plan represents an investment of 1.1 million euros, and must be implemented under the supervision of the French Office for Biodiversity for two years.

The company will also compensate several environmental protection associations to the tune of €516,800 in total. The conclusion of this CJIP comes following two preliminary investigations. The first concerned drilling operations without authorization and the second for deception, due to the use of unauthorized treatments – acknowledged by Nestlé – for its mineral waters, namely ultraviolet treatment and activated carbon filters.