Nestlé outlines climate priorities for operations in Europe and MENA region

Swiss food company Nestlé has revealed its new climate priorities for operations in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to achieve its 2050 net-zero emissions target.

The company said that approximately two-thirds of its total emissions are linked with the agriculture sector.

To address the issue, the firm said that it will change terms with suppliers regarding the way food is produced.

Farming practices will transition to regenerative agriculture to benefit nature and improve farmer incomes.

The plan has been outlined as the company sources its key ingredients such as cocoa, coffee and milk primarily from Europe and MENA.

As part of its new initiative, Nestlé will focus on healthy soils, net-zero dairy farms, and sustainably sourced cocoa and coffee.

Nestlé Europe and MENA CEO Marco Settembri said: “Our projects on healthy soils, low emission dairy farms, and sustainably sourced cocoa and coffee show promising outcomes.

“We are confident that those collaborations with farmers and suppliers can be extended to reach our net-zero climate goal.”

According to the plan, Nestlé aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

The company has already initiated several programmes to achieve its 2050 net-zero target, which includes ‘Living Soils’ in France and ‘LENs’ in the UK.

Under these programmes, Nestlé has been promoting no or decreased pesticides usage and apply techniques such as permanent soil cover, crop rotation, and reduced tillage.

Nestlé said that these initiatives will help in restoring more carbon and water locked up in the ground, as well as create healthier soils.

The company also aims to increase its actions in the dairy supply chain with an objective of net-zero emissions dairy farms.

For achieving this objective, Nestlé implements a range of better farming initiatives, such as keeping cows longer, using more local feed, and working on cows’ health.

The company aims to sustainably source 100% of its cocoa and coffee, as well as power all its 800 sites worldwide with 100% renewable electricity, by 2025.

Currently, 80 out of around 130 facilities across Europe and MENA use 100% renewable electricity.