Nestlé Redoubles Efforts to Combat Climate Change

The company recently announced it is taking measures to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 – even as the company grows. Actions focus on supporting farmers and suppliers to advance regenerative agriculture, planting hundreds of millions of trees within the next 10 years and completing the company’s transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2025. Additionally, Nestlé is continuously increasing the number of ‘carbon neutral’ brands.

Nestlé Chairman Paul Bulcke said, “The Board recognizes the strategic importance of taking decisive measures to address climate change. It supports accelerating and scaling up our work to ensure the long-term success of the company and to contribute to a sustainable future for generations to come.”

This roadmap is the result of a complete review of Nestlé’s businesses and operations to understand the depth of the challenge and determine the actions needed to address it. The company emitted 92 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, which will serve as the baseline for measuring progress.

“Tackling climate change can’t wait and neither can we. It is imperative to the long-term success of our business,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO. “We have a unique opportunity to address climate change, as we operate in nearly every country in the world and have the size, scale and reach to make a difference. We will work together with farmers, industry partners, governments, non-governmental organizations and our consumers to reduce our environmental footprint.”

The company expects to invest a total of CHF3.2bn over the next five years to accelerate their work, including CHF1.2bn to spark regenerative agriculture across the company’s supply chain. These investments will be financed primarily through operational and structural efficiencies to keep this initiative earnings neutral.