Insights from Nestlé Global's 2023 Climate Progress Update
Opinion Piece by Teya Duncan
I recently had the opportunity to attend Nestlé Global's 2023 Climate Progress Update, hosted in collaboration with Innovation Forum. The company's Net Zero targets were under the spotlight, with presenters from across the global team sharing examples of Net Zero projects. It was particularly interesting to hear about the initiatives the company has planned in its aim to reduce the impact of its dairy farming in Brazil.
One striking revelation was the pivotal role of dairy farming in Nestlé's overall emissions profile, with representatives stating that dairy farming makes up over 1/3 of Nestlé Global’s total measured emissions, with 75% of farm emissions being from animal feed.
Barbara Sollero from Nestlé Brazil discussed the certification program created in 2006 by Nestlé Brazil for dairy farmers focused on improving milk quality and food safety. The program later shifted to focus on animal welfare, water management, and helping farmers to “transition to regenerative agriculture systems”. Sollero stated that the “main purpose of the program is to support rolling out regenerative agriculture at scale in Brazil”.
According to Nestlé representatives, across the rollout of the program “179 farms have reached an advanced level of expertise, producing more than 17 000 000 litres of milk per month with more than 11400 hectares of land in regenerative process”. The company also indicated that 75 000 000 litres of water and 226 000 tonnes of carbon equivalent had been saved.
Several attendees asked questions about how the company defines regenerative agriculture, and what methodology was used to measure these outcomes. One attendee asked if the interventions and correspondent carbon impacts are certified, adding “How does Nestlé guarantee integrity on reporting such figures?”. Other questions included “How do you prove or certify regenerative production” and “Does Nestlé refer to an external standard to define regenerative practices”. This was echoed by another participant who asked “Given regenerative agriculture is not defined and open to interpretation, how do you verify regenerative agriculture within your supply chain? Is this assured by a third party?”. None of these questions were answered by Nestlé representatives on the webinar.
Currently, there is no universally agreed-upon definition of regenerative agriculture and no global certification program. Without standardised definitions and measurement methodologies, it's challenging to accurately assess the effectiveness of regenerative agriculture programs.
When asked about the company’s strategy regarding regenerative agriculture in the next five years, Nestlé’s Stefan Canz stated that the target for 2025 is to source 20% of “key raw materials from farmers deploying regenerative practices”, and up to 50% by 2030. According to Sollero, Nestlé is “helping the farmers in the program… with technical assistance” and “to become more professional [and] more efficient through these regenerative agriculture practices, such as no-tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, multi-species pastures, to enhance their land resilience and productivity”.
“When we talk about dairy we need to integrate livestock into the systems. This means improving animal welfare and [dairy cow] productivity, including manure as an organic fertiliser in order to reduce the chemical fertiliser inputs, and in some cases supporting investment in biodigesters that can reduce methane emissions”, she said.
No further information on animal welfare programs was provided. The Nestlé Commitment on Farm Animal Welfare outlines a plan to undertake a monitoring programme and ensure the “five freedoms” for animals in its supply chain are met. The Commitment, an appendix to the Nestlé Supplier Code, does not appear to hold suppliers accountable to any specific animal welfare requirements for dairy cows.
The Nestlé website provides limited information on the regenerative practices in Brazil. It outlines that the company is researching feed supplements to reduce methane emissions, but this program appears to still be in the research phase, with no tangible outcomes yet achieved. The second aspect of “making dairy farming more sustainable” outlined on the website is addressing greenhouse gas emissions associated with animal feed. Some of the regenerative practices that Nestlé is “working with farmers to implement” are the introduction of cover crops and the use of organic fertilisers, helping to “improve soil quality, which enables more carbon capture”.
When presenting on outcomes of the Net Zero Strategy, Nestlé representatives stated that dairy and livestock programs were responsible for 25% of all reductions in emissions. One participant raised a question about these reported emissions reductions, noting that only 6% of reported reductions in Nestlé’s dairy sourcing can be attributed to the Brazil project. Information on the Nestlé global milk supply chain was not provided on the webinar, but the Nestlé website indicates that the company works with over 200,000 farmers across twenty-seven countries.
Some organisations have called out Nestlé’s Net Zero strategy for its insufficient targets. Changing Markets Foundation campaign adviser Maddy Haughton-Boakes, pointed out in press release on the Foundation’s website, that “failing to meet UN standards not only means that Nestlé’s net-zero plans lack teeth but it is also at risk of being a greenwashing exercise. What is especially worrying is that Nestlé has no specific methane reduction target – which is astonishing when its dairy production alone emits around twice as much methane as the entire livestock sector of Switzerland”.
The Climate Progress Update webinar also addressed sustainability initiatives within Nestlé’s coffee supply chain, with representatives highlighting the integral role that reforestation and curbing deforestation plays in the company’s Net Zero Strategy. As highlighted in previous blogs I have published with SD Strategies, the impact of the dairy industry globally is significant, particularly when it comes to deforestation, emissions, modern slavery, indigenous land grabbing and animal welfare concerns. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), cattle ranching accounts for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon. According to the Nestle Milk Plan, “reducing global deforestation by increasing the use of homegrown forage” is optional for farmers.
With this in mind, I asked the following:
“I applaud Nestlé's aim to reduce deforestation. Considering the #1 cause of deforestation in the Amazon is cattle farming and soy production for animal feed, how does the Net Zero strategy address the impact of [Nestlé’s] dairy farming in Brazil? Are dairy alternatives being investigated as a long-term sustainable solution?”
This was echoed by another attendee, who asked how Nestlé is addressing deforestation risk from livestock sourcing and meatpackers, and asked for clarity on what traceability mechanisms are in place.
Our questions were answered in part by Florence Hendry, Nestlé’s Global Head of Sustainability Nutrition, who explained that “the feed stream is a vast one for [Nestlé]”, adding that “there’s many levers that [Nestlé is] starting to activate. Number one is… ensuring that the soy [it sources] is deforestation free” She added that this “is work in progress”.
I’m very interested to see more information on what steps are being taken towards sourcing deforestation free feed, as well as what assurance processes are in place to ensure farmland was not sourced through deforestation or Indigenous land grabbing. At this time, dairy is not mentioned on the company’s deforestation free supply chains web page. Robin Barr from Nature for Justice asked for further information on Nestlé's efforts in safeguarding natural forests in its sourcing regions and its commitment to collaborating with marginalised communities, such as BIPOC farmers. In response, Franck Saint-Martin from Nestlé provided links to the company's forest-positive initiative.
The Nestlé Forest-Positive and deforestation-free supply chains state that in 2023, 93.4% of primary supply chains were assessed as deforestation free. Interestingly, dairy is not listed as one of these ‘primary supply chains’ and therefore not factored into this statistic. According to the Nestlé website, dairy is the company’s biggest raw material by volume. Considering cattle farming and soy production for animal feed are the biggest drivers of deforestation in Brazil, and dairy production makes up 1/3 of the company’s emissions, the exclusion of this supply chain from assessments and published statistics raises some pertinent questions.
I have to wonder what percentage of Nestlé supply chains would be assessed as ‘deforestation free’ were dairy included in calculations.
The second part of my question regarding the exploration of dairy free alternatives was echoed by another attendee, who asked if Nestlé is considering plant-based alternatives in its dairy emissions reduction strategy. These questions were not answered directly, however a Nestlé representative did state:
“The future will be with dairy, but it will be with sustainable dairy”
In their presentations, Nestlé's representatives emphasised the importance of integrating scientific insights into sustainability practices. Many recent scientific studies have concluded that a move towards a plant-based food system is one of the most powerful ways to reverse the trajectory of climate change. Nestlé themselves echo this sentiment, with the company’s website stating that moving to a diet with less or even no animal products is “one of the most effective ways any of us can help fight climate change”.
In 2020 Nestlé announced that it had a wide range of plant-based dairy alternatives in development, and even stated that these products “have a favourable environmental footprint”. In 2021 Nestlé launched a pea based milk alternative ‘Wunda’, but this product has since been discontinued, with representatives citing a desire to“ focus [Nestlé’s] investments and resources on strengthening our [its] portfolio, rather than on the significant investments required in the new brands”. Several other products mentioned in the 2020 announcement, such as Nescafe plant based lattes, appear to also have been discontinued, with website pages no longer active.
Nestlé's commitment to "sustainable dairy", and apparent reluctance to explore the potential positive environmental impact of dairy alternatives, warrants further scrutiny. Aligning with scientific recommendations by exploring and promoting dairy-free alternatives could be a significant step forward for the company's sustainability efforts.
Whilst I applaud Nestlés commitment to transparency in its Net Zero journey, this event underscores that, as stakeholders, it's imperative that we continue to pose challenging questions and advocate for robust, science-driven solutions in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.
#ClimateAction #Sustainability #PlantBasedFuture