Our approach to identifying and addressing human rights risks

A just transition to a regenerative food system demands a multifaceted approach that puts people first. Our Human Rights Framework provides the foundation.

We are committed to respecting and advancing human rights in our operations and supply chains. 

We have identified the 10 most salient human rights issues we face as part of our Human Rights Framework and Roadmap. The action plans we have developed will help us to address each of these issues, with the aim to further strengthen our due diligence approach, as well as, carefully monitoring their implementation and reporting on our progress across our value chain.

Our Human Rights Framework aims to enhance our level of due diligence across our value chain, while strengthening our positive impact on the ground towards a just transition to a regenerative food system. 

By building on our history of embedding human rights within our organization, and of assessing human rights risks on the ground, our framework provides the basis for a more strategic approach to scaling our human rights efforts, monitoring our achievements and being open about the challenges we face.

Understanding our salient issues 

Our salient issues are the areas we have identified as those human rights at risk of the most severe negative impact on people through our activities or business relationships.

They are informed by human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) carried out between 2009 and 2017 and the human rights risk assessment (HRRA) methodology that we developed over the course of 2020 and 2021, as well as our strengthened audit, monitoring and Speak Up grievance processes.

10 salient issues are:

• Child labor and access to education 
• Forced labor and responsible recruitment 
• Living income and living wage 
• Gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment 
• Safety and health at work 
• Freedom of association and collective bargaining 
• Right to water and sanitation 
• Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities' land rights 
• Data protection and privacy 
• Right to food and access to nutritious, affordable and adequate diets

Salient issue action plans

We have developed action plans for our ten salient issues. These plans articulate our strategy for assessing, addressing and reporting on each salient issue, defining what we need to do across our supply chain, as well as what collective action can be taken. As we implement these action plans and integrate them into our sourcing strategies such as the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, the Nescafé Plan 2030 and our dairy strategy, we aim to report on progress by the end of 2025. 

The full list of our salient issue action plans can be found here (pdf, 13Mb).

Involving stakeholders on the ground

We aim to liaise with these groups to enhance our appreciation of the root causes of human rights issues on the ground.

Enabling human rights

Respecting and advancing human rights must be carefully integrated into the way businesses operate. To enhance our due diligence approach, we have identified five key enablers that are crucial to helping us address the most serious human rights issues we face.

1 Governance and Incentives
We integrate human rights at all levels of our governance structure.

2 Policies and Control Systems
We leverage our policies and control systems to embed human rights throughout the organization.

3 Engagement and Advocacy
We engage with key stakeholders and advocate for smart due diligence legislation and collective action on the ground.

4 Strategic Partnerships
We partner with thought-leading and boots-on-the-ground organizations.

5 Transparency and Reporting
We provide a high level of transparency on the progress we make and the challenges we face.