Our road to net zero

Climate change is one of society’s greatest challenges. It is also one of the greatest risks to the future of our business. Limiting its severity and impacts requires all of us to act with urgency.

As a food, beverage and nutrition business, we are reliant on the natural environment for the supply of raw ingredients to make our products. It is in our interests to ensure that this supply chain is resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Nestlé has committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. We are proud of the progress made so far, while also recognizing that there is much work still to be done. By the end of last year we achieved a 20.38% net reduction of GHG emissions versus our 2018 baseline. When we talk about our GHG footprint, we are referring to the emissions within the scope of our commitment.

We are aiming for a reduction of 50% by the end of the decade.

In 2020, we published the Nestlé Net Zero Roadmap, a comprehensive strategy for reducing emissions across all three Scopes of Nestlé’s activities: - emissions that Nestlé creates directly as a business (known as Scope 1), the emissions associated with the energy we buy and use (Scope 2) and those in our value chain (Scope 3). Almost all our GHG emissions (~95%) are from Scope 3 emissions. Dairy and livestock ingredients are the largest single source of our Scope 3 emissions, representing 30% of Nestlé’s GHG emissions.

We have approved near‑ and long‑term science‑based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The SBTi has validated Nestlé’s net zero science‑based target by 2050. These targets include our specific Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) sector objectives for 2030 and 2050.

What we are doing to reduce emissions

GHG reductions and removals

To achieve net zero emissions, we are reducing emissions across our business and supply chains.

We are collaborating with suppliers, farmers and communities to implement regenerative agriculture practices aiming to improve soil health and absorb carbon. We are investing in emission reductions related to logistics, packaging and manufacturing . We are reducing the risk of deforestation through assessing our key ingredients as deforestation-free.

Our Net Zero Roadmap includes carbon removals through natural climate solutions. These projects occur within the landscapes where we source our raw materials, enabling forest restoration, wetland rehabilitation and peatland preservation. These efforts aim to benefit biodiversity and local communities while creating measurable carbon reductions.

For Scope 1 and 2 emissions, our primary strategy is to reduce our energy consumption and and move towards 100% renewable energy in our manufacturing sites.