Today and everyday, we're better with pets

A year ago, as we celebrated World Animal Day, I shared a note about my own experience with pets, enjoying the company of two dogs and a cat when I was a child, building lasting memories with them and appreciating the power of our bond throughout the years. As a father, I then saw - and I still see - how my children have experienced the same “magic” growing up with our dachshund Joy, weaving a relationship made not only of numerous fun moments together, but also of genuine respect and care.

While my personal experience makes me a natural believer in the value of pet ownership, I truly enjoy having the opportunity to interact daily with colleagues, experts and business partners all driven by a shared ambition: enhancing the well-being of cats and dogs. To me, that is truly energizing.

Reflecting upon last year, I am delighted to see that our BetterWithPets prize has enabled some organizations to make a positive impact to society by leveraging the power of the human-pet bond. Canine Perspective, one of our finalists, is now making an even greater difference to survivors of rape and sexual violence, with rescue dogs as canine co-tutors at workshops they host. Since winning the prize, the OOPOEH Foundation has launched multiple campaigns to seniors, engaging them through online channels as well as through their (former) veterinarians, physical therapists, doctors, community centers and pharmacies.

At Nestlé Purina, we have also been working on novel approaches to provide pets with better quality of life and therefore happier owners. One of our recent breakthroughs, shared by the Purina Institute and related to the neutralization of cat allergens, is set to make a real difference for people who, so far, might have been unable to own and enjoy a cat due to allergic reactions. By talking to colleagues and experts, I have been able to appreciate how pet health is quickly matching the complexity and impact of innovation in human health, requiring ongoing and often joint efforts among different stakeholder groups to accelerate meaningful outcomes.

Being passionate about the often-underestimated connections between environment and health, I have also been actively working with my teams over the past year to plan and achieve further goals in the sustainability space. Across our whole value chain, we are implementing many initiatives helping to reduce our carbon footprint, more sustainable sourcing, increased traceability, as well as more environmentally-friendly packaging. This is part of a major challenge Purina is tackling in line with Nestlé’s pledge to achieve zero net greenhouse emissions by 2050. We will only be able to halt (or at least slow down) the devastating effects of climate change through continuous collaborations and significant efforts: the clock is ticking and every action counts.

With such a wave of progress and positive change in the background, on this year’s World Animal Day we should celebrate not only pets, but also all of those individuals and organizations that, in different ways, contribute to pets and people being better together.

Happy World Animal Day!