He does absolutely say that "NGOs bang on about water being declared a human right", at the time when he is relaxed, and even bringing up some Austrian folk song about water. He says absolutely nothing about limits, or just being careful.
The page you linked is a great example of corporate damage control. I tend to trust what people say when they are being candid over what they say on a PR page.
That video cuts off right before Brabeck states his own view. Thanks for proving my point that his quote is often taken out of context. Here's a longer one
He states that he thinks it would be better to give water a price so that we are aware of its value, and take specific measures to provide access to water to people who can't afford it. Not the worst idea ever to fight water waste.
Thanks for linking a more complete video. However, I don't understand how the extra context absolves him. In fact, it shows more clearly that he is of the "put a price on everything" (implicit: and then we can sell it at that price) worldview.
Notice that he clearly calls water a "foodstuff" before talking about giving it a price. He then follows it up by saying "The biggest social responsibility of any CEO is to maintain and ensure the successful and profitable future of his enterprise".
Somehow I don't think water waste and access for needy people is particularly important to him. At minimum, I would at least say that he is mildly in opposition to access to clean drinking water being declared a fundamental right instead of a product to be sold. This makes perfect sense, because it would eliminate or heavily impact Nestlé's water business if every country in the world had clean drinking water.
Oh come on. He is clearly referring to the problem of water being wasted as a valueless common good, mostly in the western world. And indeed, what is happening for instance in California right now can be seen as tragedy of commons problem (see e.g. http://legal-planet.org/2015/07/13/tragedy-of-the-commons-ca...)
But sure, if you need to confirm the BigCo CEO as incarnation of Satan, go ahead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWkA-uAPXCE#t=2m10s
He does absolutely say that "NGOs bang on about water being declared a human right", at the time when he is relaxed, and even bringing up some Austrian folk song about water. He says absolutely nothing about limits, or just being careful.
The page you linked is a great example of corporate damage control. I tend to trust what people say when they are being candid over what they say on a PR page.