Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Sort by
Sort by

Climate action in our operations

Truck

 

With food production accounting for around a third of all emissions, our sector has a vital role to play in helping to reduce the impacts of climate change.

While most of our emissions come from our agriculture supply chain, our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our operations are also critical for reaching net zero.

Reducing emissions in our operations

Title
Renewable electricity sourced in Nestlé's manufacturing sites at year end

Subtitle
Percentage
Top Text

By 2025, we aim to achieve 100% sourced renewable electricity in all our manufacturing sites.

 

Increasing our renewable energy capacity

Our actions toward net zero evolve as we identify opportunities. By 2025, we aim to achieve 100% sourced renewable electricity in all our manufacturing sites. By the end of 2024, we were at 95.3%. This reduces our reliance on fossil fuels, protecting us against volatility in the cost of buying energy and helps deliver a significant reduction in Nestlé’s Scope 2 emissions.

In August 2024, we increased our renewables capacity with a major investment in a 2 600 acre solar project in Texas, North America. As well as the direct investment, we will purchase 100% of the renewable electricity generated by the project’s energy production, estimated to be an average of over 522 000 megawatt hours per year for 15 years. The annual carbon emission reduction is expected to be equivalent to the emissions of more than 66 000 cars from the road per year.

Maintaining carbon efficiency at our plants

We purchase renewable energy capacity for our manufacturing facilities, via:

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

We continue building on existing actions, such as the rollout of biomass boilers at several Nestlé factories and the implementation of energy-saving measures such as the installation of LED lighting and phasing out the use of harmful gases used in refrigeration.

Maintenance within factories

Increasing our transport solutions

In our transport and logistics operations, we prioritize greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy consumption and efficient warehousing. With our extensive footprint across many regions, we realize that there is no single solution. We work locally, deploying the interventions that we know can enable us to reach our interim 2025 20% GHG emissions reduction target; see examples below:

  • Nestlé Italy is partnering with farmers to make use of their manure and agricultural waste to produce biogas which we use for our heavy duty vehicles. In 2023, we saved more than 13 000 tons of CO2.
  • Nestlé India has joined 14 other companies in the Zero Emission Vehicles Emerging Markets Initiative to advance the electrification of the truck market in India, expected to be 7 700 vehicles by 2030.
  • Nestlé UK and Ireland have deployed double-stacked rail for a trial with a retailer which has the potential to take up to 76 heavy goods vehicles off the roads, with 76% less CO2e emissions than a diesel road journey.
  • Nestlé Thailand piloted 100% electric-powered freight trucks in 2023 to deliver products from the company’s factories to its distribution centers and retail stores. This trial initiative is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate action in our operations > Components > Second column

This footage was filmed on a mobile phone, which may affect the audio-visual quality.
 

Using more renewable thermal energy

Our operations use renewable thermal energy as well as electricity. For example, in Indonesia and Malaysia, five factories have switched from fossil fuels to using locally supplied rice husk as a biofuel.

We have introduced industrial heat pumps, replacing the use of fossil fuels in La Penilla, Spain, saving 1 750 tonnes of CO2e, and in Konolfingen and Orbe in Switzerland, saving 1 000 tonnes of CO2e each per year.

Improving our emissions data

To ensure that our climate change mitigation approach is as effective as possible, we regularly refine our methodologies as new data points become available. This increased granularity is reflected in the emissions data we now request from our suppliers. Moving from estimated figures has affected our baseline, i.e., the number we measure against. As more primary data becomes available, we anticipate further revisions to our baseline, which may increase or decrease our overall footprint.

Our operations use renewable thermal energy

Combating climate change at our mealtimes

We feed our global workforce roughly 50 million meals every year through our on-site restaurants. Our restaurants have promoted lower environmental impact choices for many years, offering a range of plant-based and locally sourced options, along with information on the impact of the ingredients, making it easier for our employees to choose foods with lower carbon footprint.