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Planet Tracker Report

Is Nestlé’s net zero plan to fight climate change robust?
Woman in field

Nestlé was one of the first major companies to set out an ambitious net zero climate roadmap with timebound milestones.

Our approach is based on the latest climate science and has been validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) as aligned with the 1.5°C pathway.

As ever, we will continue to learn and adapt throughout the journey to net zero. We welcome scrutiny of corporate strategies on climate, particularly where this encourages more companies to commit to science-based targets and helps achieve greater harmonization in assessing progress.

Urgent action at scale is needed to decarbonize the economy. We remain focused on delivering against this plan and have already passed "peak carbon".

You can read more on our progress and achievements in our latest Creating Shared Value and Sustainability Report 2021 (pdf, 16Mb)  and Climate Risk and Impact Report (pdf, 8Mb)
 

What is the scope of your Climate Roadmap? What have you already achieved?

Our climate targets are measured against a 2018 baseline (92 million tonnes of CO2e). Nestlé is already reducing greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms to achieve 50% by 2030 (approximately 46 million tonnes of CO2e).

In 2021, we achieved a reduction of 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. These reductions were reviewed by independent auditors, EY.

Our targets cover all 3 scopes of our activities. This means that we are also addressing emissions not under our direct control.

Read more about our progress toward net zero emissions.
 

How much are you spending on this plan?

Our climate roadmap highlights our investment of CHF 3.2 billion by 2025 to help us accelerate our decarbonization efforts. This includes CHF 1.2 billion allocated to sparking regenerative agriculture throughout our supply chains and a further CHF 2 billion for a range of other mitigation measures.

We have yet to announce any investments beyond 2025 but will keep this under review as we test and apply approaches to rapidly decarbonize our value chain.
 

How do you plan to address scope 3 emissions coming from your supply chain?

Our roadmap includes targets to reduce scope 3 emissions which are mostly related to the sourcing of our ingredients.

We work with farmers and suppliers to spark regenerative agriculture practices and help them change the way they grow food. Our plan is to source 50% of our key ingredients from regenerative agriculture by 2030.

At the same time, we invest in projects within our supply chain that remove carbon from the atmosphere by protecting and restoring land and by growing trees. Our ambition is to plant 200 million trees by the end of 2030. These trees are planted within our supply chains, on the farms where our raw materials are grown and harvested or/and in their immediate surroundings.
 

Has the scope of your deforestation-free commitment changed over time? Where do you stand on progress?

No, the scope of our deforestation-free commitment has not changed over time. It remains focused on our key agricultural commodities that present the highest risks associated with deforestation in our supply chain - namely, palm oil, soy, meat, sugar, and pulp & paper.

As of December 2021, 97.2% of our key agricultural commodities have been assessed as deforestation-free. What’s more, we have also expanded the scope to include our coffee and cocoa supply chains, which we hope to ensure are not associated with deforestation by the end of 2025.
 

Are Nestlé’s advocacy activities on climate carried out in line with the Paris Agreement?

They are. In 2022, we issued our first Climate Advocacy Report, which lists many of the global organizations we support. This demonstrates how their activities are aligned with the 1.5-degree pathway and Paris Agreement. We’ve also issued guidance to our colleagues at national level on ensuring their activities also align with this approach.
 

What's your ambition regarding the use of renewable electricity? Why don't you provide more details?

Already more than 60% of the electricity we purchase for our sites comes from renewable sources. Our ambition is to move to 100% purchased renewable electricity across our sites globally by 2025.

Details on the amount of renewable electricity we purchase year on year is publicly available on global disclosure websites such as CDP

We also provide details about recent projects to switch or increase the use of renewable electricity. For instance, in 2021 we announced an investment in a 2,000-acre solar project in Texas. This is our largest direct investment (by capacity) in a renewable energy project to date.
 

What's the role of carbon offsetting in your net zero ambition?

Our Net Zero Roadmap does not rely on offsets. We focus first on reducing emissions as far as possible. The remaining emissions are then addressed through in-setting: using natural climate solutions to increase the storage of carbon in the land and soils in our own value chain.

As a food company with a large land footprint, most of our emissions come from agriculture and the ingredients we source. That is why we want to make a significant contribution to decarbonizing our value chain through natural climate solutions projects. These insetting projects take place within our supply chain and the landscapes where we source our raw materials, and help restore forests, wetlands and peatlands, or improve land management.