Deforestation

Nestlé views destruction of tropical rainforests and peatlands as one of the most serious environmental issues facing us today. It is estimated that rainforest destruction contributes to around 20% of carbon dioxide emissions – more than the entire transport sector. The growing use of biofuels is a serious factor in this destruction – which we have vigorously condemned.

At the April 2010 Annual General Meeting our Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe reinforced this position and repeated our support for an end to deforestation.

Since then, José Lopez, Executive Vice President Nestlé S.A., has announced further actions including a partnership with The Forest Trust (TFT). Together with TFT, Nestlé has established Responsible Sourcing Guidelines and has committed to ensuring that its products do not have a deforestation footprint. This is the first time any company has made such a commitment.

Read the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Guidelines (pdf, 207 Kb)
Read our commitments on Deforestation and Forest Stewardship (pdf, 279 Kb)

Nestlé is committed to communicating regularly on progress, including holding regular meetings with Greenpeace. Since making this announcement, TFT and Nestlé have established a strong action plan to implement Nestlé's commitment. Supplier assessments against the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Guidelines have started during the last quarter of 2010. Action plans are being developed with each supplier to ensure traceability and sustainability. This includes technical assistance to ensure full legal compliance of all plantation activities and to identify and protect forests of High Conservation Value, peatlands and high carbon value forests. In addition, technical support will focus on building relationships with indigenous and local communities and implementing programs to ensure they secure their rights in the face of plantation establishment programs. For an update on how this work is progressing please see the TFT website – Nestlé and TFT publish first progress report

Building partnerships

In addition, we are intensifying our cooperation with international organisations to build a global movement to support the development, implementation and disclosure of sustainable forestry practices. We have become an active member of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Visit the RSPO website

Leveraging our expertise

In addition to the technical assistance for suppliers, we are intensifying our work on the ground by leveraging our extensive expertise in Research and Development, particularly in tree science and in agronomy where we give direct assistance and share best practice with local farmers.

Highlighting impact of biofuel

We are stepping up our vigorous advocacy against the use of food products for biofuels which is a serious factor in the destruction of the rainforests. Read a presentation from Peter Brabeck-Letmathe on the subject of biofuel at the FAO Private Sector Forum in Milan. Visualise the oil usage for biofuel production (pdf, 461 Kb)
Read the Food and Beverage Companies' Joint Statement on biofuels (November 3, 2011) (pdf, 279 Kb)

Taking action with our suppliers

The supply chain of palm oil is very complex and there are no quick and easy solutions. We have conducted an in depth analysis of our supply chain in order to create transparency and detailed action plans. Read more about the complexity of the palm oil supply chain in the RSPO Supply Chain Systems Overview (pdf, 3.95Mb) 

We are using our Responsible Sourcing Guidelines and supply chain mapping process to identify how our suppliers are performing and the actions they need to take to comply with these Guidelines. We expect non-compliant suppliers to implement an Action Plan to become compliant and the continuation of commercial relationships is conditional on this. Technical support will be provided to those who currently do not meet the guidelines but who are committed to achieving them.

Auditing the supply chain

Although Nestlé only buys 0.7 per cent of world palm oil production, we are conscious of our responsibility in contributing to effective and sustainable solutions.

The Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Guidelines are a set of critical requirements to guide the Nestlé procurement process and ensure compliance with the Nestlé Supplier Code. In partnership with TFT we are focusing on assessing suppliers’ performance with respect to these guidelines and on providing technical support to those who currently do not meet the requirements, but who are committed to achieving them.

In terms of all our sourcing, not just for palm oil, we have been conducting responsible sourcing audits to ensure compliance to our Supplier Code since 2009 through the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) which enables businesses to share ethical data on their supply chains. We have a structured process that prioritises high risk materials and high risk countries. Read more on the Sedex website

Sustainable palm oil

With regards to our pledge to achieve sustainable palm oil by 2015, we are making progress on certified palm oil and palm oil certificates even more rapidly, with 20 per cent of our purchases covered in 2010, and we expect to reach 50% by the end of 2011 and 80% in 2012.

Next steps

We will be making regular updates about our commitments, progress and actions towards making a moratorium on the destruction of tropical rainforests and peatlands a reality.

Related links:

Related documents:

Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Guidelines (pdf, 207 Kb)
Nestlé commitments on Deforestation and Forest Stewardship (pdf, 279 Kb)
Oil usage for biofuel production (pdf, 461 Kb)
Food and Beverage Companies' Joint Statement on biofuels (November 3, 2011) (pdf, 279 Kb)
RSPO Supply Chain Systems Overview (pdf, 3.95Mb) 
Letter to Greenpeace (pdf, 633 Kb)