Climate change leadership

Why it matters

Climate change is already having a global impact. Food and agriculture is one of the sectors that will be most impacted by climate change, and it is imperative that we act to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resilient farming systems so we can continue to provide food for the world. This is, however, a systemic issue, and collaboration between businesses, consumers and governments is needed to safeguard the climate and environment for future generations.

What we are doing

In 2019, we accelerated our commitment to zero net GHG emissions by 2050, aligning with more ambitious climate goals. We also expanded our renewable energy use and identified ways to reduce emissions in our facilities. Read more about it in our 2019 progress report.

How we are developing our climate change strategy

As climate science has changed and developed, so has our approach to mitigating our operational impacts and becoming more resilient to climate change. To lead the industry in terms of climate change action, we are strengthening our strategy, focusing on several key areas where we believe the biggest changes can be made.

More than 90% of our GHG emissions occur along our value chain¹. We will address these through a range of product developments and collaborative actions with our suppliers.

• Tackling deforestation: The world’s forests absorb approximately 2.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ each year, yet deforestation continues. Currently, 77% of the key agricultural raw materials we buy, like palm oil and soya, were verified deforestation-free. That figure will surpass 90% by the end of 2020. We will continue to work with smallholder farmers and large suppliers alike to be close to 100% within the next three years.
• Reducing food loss and waste: As well as losing nutritional value, food waste and loss has an adverse impact on the environment in the form of wasted resources used to produce that food. We are performing surveys upstream in our agricultural supply chains to identify the areas where most food is lost. We will then devise action plans and work with farmers to reduce these losses. 
• Developing alternative protein sources: We are responding to a market demand for more plant-based protein options that are both healthy and have a lower carbon footprint than meat-based proteins. 
• Designing alternative packaging solutions: The development of our packaging research institute in 2019 will allow us to accelerate the development of functional and safe packaging solutions that have a lower carbon footprint. 
• Promoting natural climate solutions: We work with our farmers on actively managing and restoring soils and planting more trees, which will naturally remove CO₂ from the atmosphere if properly preserved.

Demonstrating our commitment

Meeting environmental milestones in the Middle East

2019 saw Nestlé Middle East make rapid progress in terms of environmental performance. Not only has water withdrawal per tonne of product decreased by 49% since 2010, our facilities in the area have also decreased energy consumption per tonne of product by 31% and GHG emissions per tonne of product by 28%.

These achievements are the result of several initiatives developed by Nestlé Middle East. Nearly 28 000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are being installed at Nestlé’s three manufacturing sites in Dubai. This will eliminate at least 6 million kilograms of CO₂ emissions annually, the equivalent of annual emissions from almost 1300 passenger cars or the energy consumption of 1000 homes. The UAE’s largest ground-mounted private solar plant has begun generating renewable energy at Nestlé Middle East’s Al Maha factory in Dubai. The site at Al Maha will house 20 000 PV panels, generating 7.2 GWh of electricity per year. That will supply approximately 85% of the Al Maha factory’s annual electricity consumption.