The secret to progressing in sustainability is building a foundation of local projects across the globe directed by teams of passionate experts.
With this as our playing field, we've been able to not only lay a strong foundation but accelerate our sustainability efforts. Here are five unexpected places that Nestlé teams are making progress for the planet and our communities:
Eliminating plastic packaging for your favorite candy
Our goal is to have all packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and evolve our packaging across five packaging pillars: to reduce, reuse & refill, redesign, recycle, and rethink behaviors connected to packaging.
A key element, in this endeavor is our partnering with others to develop infrastructure that enables effective recycling. Right now, 84% of our packaging is recyclable or reusable, and 37% is made from recycled and/or renewable materials.
To help go even further, our CHF 250 million sustainable packaging venture fund targets investment opportunities for developing innovative packaging, refill systems, and recycling solutions. We already see inspiring results from our brands like Smarties, which became the world’s first global confectionery brand to transition to recyclable paper packaging and eliminating plastic from 250 million+ packs globally each year.
Equipping young farmers to start a regenerative approach from day one
Inspiring young agripreneurs and entrepreneurs is essential to our regeneration efforts. We believe that helping youth access career development is a win-win: it creates better opportunities for millions of young people, while also bringing skills and innovation to work on solutions for society-wide challenges.
In 2021, we trained over 7,400 young farmers through our agripreneurship program and by 2030, our ambition is to help 10 million young people around the world access economic opportunities. As we work with partners on supporting young people to develop livelihoods in farming, we can also help develop knowledge of regenerative agriculture methods from the start of their practice.
Packing micronutrients into 125 billion meals
In 2021, we distributed 125 billion servings of affordable nutrition with micronutrient fortification (MNF). And to continue bringing people the micronutrients they need, 83% of our affordable nutrition products are now fortified with at least one essential micronutrient, such as iron, zinc, vitamin A or iodine. The impact cannot be understated.
83% of our affordable nutrition products are now fortified.
For example, Ninho Forti+, which provides essential micronutrients and fiber supported 30 million school-aged children in Brazil in 2021. Each day, a new single-serve dairy-based beverage similarly helps lower-income families in Kenya to address nutritional deficiencies and support immunity with iron, zinc and vitamins.
This is coupled with our newly launched logo, 'GRAINSMART' to make it easier for consumers to choose products with high-quality whole grains and reduced sugar. Our ongoing Research and Development investments help develop products and solutions with positive impacts on both the communities and environment.
Seeing the forest through the trees
Food systems are deeply connected to the planet's resources. It is important that we work to lead and partner to help protect, renew and restore the resources we all depend on. For example, we are working to eliminate deforestation in our primary palm oil, sugar, soy, meat, and pulp and paper supply chains.
And at the same time, by 2030 we plan to grow 200 million trees to not only capture carbon, but also help rebuild forests and communities, protect threatened and endangered biodiversity, promote soil nutrients, and conserve water.
By 2030 we plan to grow 200 million trees.
By 2025, we aim to achieve the same for our coffee and cocoa supply chains. Taking this Forest Positive approach to our supply chain has a both an influence on our impact and how we collaborate with our suppliers.
Halving emissions, from cows to power grids
To accelerate our goal of net zero emissions and regenerative food systems, we are working towards investing CHF 1.2 billion by 2025 in regenerative agriculture practices. We have also committed to sourcing 50% of our key ingredients through such methods by 2030. Our supply chain includes agricultural suppliers around the world that account for about two-thirds of our greenhouse gas emissions. That's why we work to help them improve practices, too. Our efforts in speeding up the use of regenerative agriculture will contribute to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.
Dairy is one critical area of our business where we're working across continents to change the climate impact of ingredients. At the same time, we also use these emissions reduction practices to develop climate-friendly milk.
Tackling emissions via methane capturing, diet adjustments for the animals or harnessing cow manure as compost can have a major impact. We are fortunate to have farmers around the world who are on board with us.
Looking forward
Our CEO Mark Schneider shared his personal viewpoint on the progress Nestlé has made (pdf, 16Mb): We've passed our peak carbon emissions and are continuing to drive our emissions down. We are on-track to hit our major emissions reduction targets in 2025. We won't stop there. By working together with suppliers, NGOs, governments, and industry partners, we move ahead in protecting, renewing, and restoring the planet and ensuring food systems can continue to nourish people for generations to come.
Find your fit at Nestlé
Whether you have years of work experience or you just graduated, there's a job opportunity for you at Nestlé. We are always looking to recruit motivated people who respect our values.