Nestlé's bid to cut Carbon Emissions in its Supply Chain

Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, is on a determined mission to cut carbon emissions from its supply chains. 

The multinational organisation has joined forces with two of its is suppliers, Cargill and ETG | Beyond Beans, to launch a pair of projects which use agroforestry to regenerate land around cocoa farms.

Both form part of Nestlé's commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The five-year programmes are set to accelerate the transition to regenerative agriculture and support reforestation of degraded lands around cocoa-farming communities. A range of shade tree species will be distributed to farmers, who will be taught tree planting and pruning techniques.

Shade trees are used to help reduce the harsh effects of the sun and provide moisture-rich spaces for cocoa crops to survive during the dry season. They can also improve water management and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

Nestlé's focus on responsible sourcing

Nestlé’s latest projects form part of its broader sustainability aims for the supply chain, which are underpinned by responsible sourcing.

From its perspective, this means considering farming practices, their impacts on forests and natural ecosystems, and the extent to which human rights and animal welfare practices are respected by growers and suppliers.

Among the company's headline goals is for 100% of its key ingredients volumes to be responsibly sourced by 2030. 

By partnering with Cargill and ETG | Beyond Beans, it is hoped more than two million shade tress will be planted on land managed by almost 20,000 farmers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Together, it's estimated they will reduce and remove more than 500,000 tonnes of carbon over a 20-year period.

A key success factor of the initiatives will be the survival rate of the trees, with farmers receiving an incentive payment when they plant the tree seedlings and care for them.

"These projects are important milestones on our journey to net zero," comments Darrell High, Global Cocoa Manager at Nestlé. "We're working to address our emissions all the way to the farms we source from."

More broadly, Nestlé’s corporate target is to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 20% versus its 2018 baseline by 2025, and by 50% by 2030. In 2023, the company achieved a 13.58% net reduction in emissions.

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