Our approach

Our intention is to advance regenerative food systems at scale.

Each word in this phrase is important and addresses how we are accelerating our activities:

• Advancing by raising Nestlé's voice and using its influence to drive progress, in collaboration with others.
• Regenerative to help conserve and restore farmland and landscapes.
• Food systems encompassing actors, activities, processes and products involved in growing, raising, making, packaging, delivering and consuming food, and the management of food and food-related waste.
• At scale because the planet, communities and individuals need global, systems-level change.

The global food system is at a critical juncture. The effects of a warming planet, the resulting nature and biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events are more evident. Climate change is speeding up the depletion of natural resources and damaging the natural ecosystems we rely on to produce food.

We play our part in addressing these challenges through key initiatives - our Net Zero Roadmap (pdf, 16Mb), The Nestlé Agriculture Framework (pdf, 19Mb), and our Human Rights Framework and Roadmap (pdf, 11Mb) - that support our continuous growth, and our ability to serve future generations of consumers.  

We collaborate closely with farmers, suppliers and partners to help create a more resilient food supply - one that aims to benefit actors across our supply chain, as well the growth of our business.

The effort requires understanding and support from all actors involved, from governments, academia and NGOs to peer companies and competitors, financial institutions and commodity traders. We all have a part to play in helping make regenerative food systems a reality.

Our Regeneration Wheel - How we create Shared Value

The challenges we face - a warming planet, nature and biodiversity loss, extreme weather events, depletion of raw materials, economic inequality - are all closely linked. Our efforts to address these challenges are holistic.  

We use what we call our regeneration wheel to show how the different areas where we work on Creating Shared Value are interconnected. It reflects our aim to deliver value for people and pets, communities and the planet while ensuring our long-term business success.

Transforming agriculture for a resilient future

Regenerative agriculture, by design, aims to improve soil health, biodiversity and water resources. It promotes the adoption of practices such as the reduction of synthetic inputs, agroforestry, cover crops, reduced tillage, riparian buffers, integrated pest management and integrated soil fertilization management.

We understand that shifting from traditional practices to new ways of farming can be difficult, which is why we follow a holistic approach that includes finance and incentives, training, and creating market demand for ingredients grown on farms that have adopted regenerative agriculture practices.

By 2030, we aim to source 50% of volumes of key ingredients from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices. The scope of this KPI includes the following ingredient categories: dairy (i.e. fresh milk and milk derivatives); coffee; cereals and grains; soy; vegetables; cocoa; palm oil; sugar; fish and seafood; meat, poultry and eggs. Learn more in the Environmental Disclosures section of our 2025 Non-Financial Statement (pdf, 18Mb).
 

Supporting a just transition

Our aim is to improve the livelihoods of farming communities across the world, allowing them to support themselves and their families. The path to regenerative agriculture takes time. This is why we are helping farmers by providing financial support, remunerating good practices and offering technical and scientific guidance, through programs like the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality^TM Program and the income accelerator program (pdf, 800Kb). This approach, along with the respect and promotion of human rights, is designed to contribute to a just transition to new practices throughout our supply chains.

Nature and biodiversity

Supporting nature is central to regenerative agriculture practices and essential for addressing climate change.

We are working to help safeguard natural resources, in particular forests and natural ecosystems, which provide habitats for many species, store water, absorb carbon dioxide, and contribute directly to the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We do this through landscape initiatives, as well as reforestation projects, and by sourcing ingredients that are assessed deforestation-free.

For example, our Global Reforestation Program (pdf, 500Kb) is undertaking large-scale reforestation projects in our supply chains and sourcing landscapes with projects in Brazil, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Vietnam, Australia, China, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Thailand. In 2025, 96.7% of our primary supply chains for meat, palm oil, pulp and paper, soy, sugar, cocoa and coffee were assessed as deforestation-free. Learn more in the Environmental Disclosures section of our 2025 Non-Financial Statement (pdf, 18Mb).

Addressing climate change

Our business relies on nature for the supply of raw ingredients to make our products. Therefore, our supply chains must be resilient against the negative impacts of climate change on food-system productivity and on the well-being of farmers, producers and their communities.

We believe addressing climate change is a business imperative. Guided by our Net Zero Roadmap (pdf, 16Mb), we aim to reduce our net GHG emissions by 20% by 2025 and 50% by 2030 from the 2018 baseline year, and reach net zero by 2050 at the latest.¹ We are proud of the progress made so far, as we strive to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels - by working towards 100% sourced renewable electricity in all manufacturing sites - and integrating nature-based solutions - for example, by aiming to source 50% of volumes of key ingredients from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices by 2030.²