Climate action in our operations

Achieving net zero emissions will involve big changes – including, of course, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our operations.

Although most of our emissions come from our supply chain, our operational carbon-reduction efforts are also critical for reaching net zero.

Reducing our carbon footprint

Our renewable energy strategy

Our purchases of renewable electricity for our manufacturing sites use a range of different RE product options, including:

• Energy Attribute Certificates (including Renewable Energy Certificates (RECS), Guarantee of Origin (GoOs) and International RECs (IRECS), depending on location)
• Green tariffs
• PPAs (both on-site and off-site)

Regarding thermal energies, which account for around two-thirds of our manufacturing energy consumption, a dedicated internal working group has been created to evaluate and explore alternative low or no carbon technologies and fuel sources This will allow the company to define more precisely its thermal renewable energy roadmap and advocacy strategy in due course.

This will build on existing actions, such as the roll out of biomass boilers at a number of Nestlé factories and the implementation of energy saving measures including the use of LED lighting and phasing out the use of HFCs as a refrigerant.

Due to these activities, across Scope 1+2, in 2021 Nestlé's emissions decreased by 5.6% versus the previous year, equivalent to 304,880 tons CO₂e.

100% renewable electricity in all our sites by 2025

We will continue to ramp up our use of renewable electricity, including wind and solar, to reach 100% across our sites globally by 2025. In addition to renewable electricity, we continue to work with suppliers to increase the availability of renewable thermal energy generated from sources such as biogas and biomass, building on successes to date.

Introducing sustainable transport

We are introducing sustainable transport options for delivering our products. For example, deliveries to many Nespresso stores across Switzerland are now made by its very first hydrogen-powered truck. The eco-mobile technology will help reduce carbon emissions, and support Nespresso’s target to reduce the carbon impact of its logistics operations by 50% by 2025. 

Using more renewable thermal energy

Our operations are introducing renewable thermal energy as well as electricity. For example, our Nescafé factory in Girona, Spain, produces over 40 000 tonnes of spent coffee grounds. As much as 80% of this will be used to fuel a biomass boiler, which harnesses steam energy generated from burning these spent grounds. Replacing natural gas sources in this way will help avoid around 19 000 tonnes of CO₂e every year.

Improving our emissions data

We are establishing clear key performance indicators (KPIs) and refining our central data tracking systems to better measure progress. This will improve the allocation of emissions and reductions to specific businesses. We also expect to align greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodologies across our brands so that it is easier to make comparisons and create targets. 

Combating climate change with the Cool Food Pledge 

We feed our global workforce roughly 50 million meals every year through our on-site restaurants. Having signed up to the Cool Food Pledge in October 2020, more of those restaurants already include lower-carbon options. This will help us achieve our Pledge commitment to cut a quarter of emissions related to the food served in our restaurants by 2030.  
 

Our restaurants have promoted lower environmental impact choices for many years, offering a range of plant-based and locally sourced options. This initiative makes it easier for our employees to enjoy a menu of options for low-emission foods and have access to information on the impact of the ingredients.