Nestlé: Regeneration is laying the ground for a net zero future

That is the view of Dr Emma Keller, the UK & Ireland's head of sustainability at food and drink giant Nestlé, which has recently announced its commitment to becoming net zero by 2050.

It is a bold plan, but for a company which operates in 186 countries with a carbon footprint twice the size of the annual emissions of Switzerland, it is an essential one, argues Dr Keller.

“It is no longer a question of ‘if’ we do something – it is about how much can we do, and how quickly we can get it done,” she explains.

“Nestlé has been working in sustainability for well over a decade, so we are not approaching this from a standing start, but the pace and scale of what needs to happen has really come to the fore.”

In December 2020, the company – which is the world’s biggest food and drink producer – published its ‘road map’ to net zero.

“Our businesses are already feeling the impact of climate change – flooding and droughts have caused massive failures to crops, the very things we depend on for our products,” adds Dr Keller.

“The latest warnings from scientists, particularly the very significant recent IPCC report, show unequivocally that climate change is happening, it is manmade, and we have a decade to reverse the worst of the impact and to stay within a 1.5 degree emission pathway, beyond which the consequences would be devastating.

“We are also hearing from our investors, and from our consumers, who are increasingly demanding more action and greater demonstration of responsibility. We simply cannot hide from it.”

She adds: “There is a groundswell of companies committing to net zero now, which is fantastic – that is exactly what needs to happen. We made the commitment to be net zero by 2050 in 2019, and while that feels like a huge target, and a long way away, there are several important milestones we have set to reach before then.”

Nestle aims to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 20 per cent by 2025, and by 50 per cent by 2030, and the company is committed to making 100 per cent of its packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025 and cutting its use of virgin plastic by a third in the same timeframe.

Dr Keller explains: “When we look at where our footprint occurs, between 70 and 90 percent of it is outside our direct control – mainly in agriculture, the sourcing and production of the raw ingredients we need to make our products.

“Key to our plans is the transition to regenerative agriculture. Working with our farmers, we are supporting them to implement a range of practices to have a positive environmental impact – switching from chemical to organic fertilisers, for example, planting cover crops to provide soil cover and increase soil fertility, storing and sequestering carbon, limiting soil disturbance, and planting trees and restoring hedgerows to promote biodiversity and improve water management.”

Nestlé is also focusing on ending deforestation in its primary supply chains by 2022, accelerating its use of a range of tools including certification, supply chain mapping and satellite imagery. Earlier this year, Nestlé joined forces with others to launch the Rimba Collective, an initiative to support the restoration of more than 500,000 hectares of tropical forest landscapes in Southeast Asia, an important sourcing region for palm oil. 

“Stopping deforestation alone is not enough and we need to ensure we are playing an active role in forest conservation and restoration so we have committed to planting 20 million trees every year for the next 10 years,” adds Dr Keller.

“The food system is responsible for a quarter of all emissions. This is a unique opportunity to be part of the solution and not the problem. It is a win-win situation because by adopting regenerative practices we can improve yield and quality of ingredients, ensure security of supply into the future and enhance the livelihoods of farmers.”

She explains: “This is all about changing behaviours, from finding new ways of managing the whole supply chain, to sourcing data to discover where the gaps are, ‘greening’ our operations and supporting our colleagues to make changes in their own lives. We can all make small changes at home that can add up to a big difference, from recycling more, switching to a renewable energy supplier or changing the way we travel with one less car journey a week or one less flight a year.

“At work, it’s about asking – is this the best way of doing this, is it the most sustainable option? And driving conscious consumption – as a consumer, do I need this product? Is it a sustainable brand?”

Nestlé’s commitment to ‘greening’ its operations across the world is another key area of its road map plan to net zero.

“We are already making the transition to renewable energy to manufacture and transport our products,” says Dr Keller.

“We have made good headway here in the UK and Ireland, already reducing the GHG footprint by 61 percent per tonne of product produced since 2007.”

Dr Keller believes regeneration – not simply in terms of agriculture but in ‘the broadest possible sense’ is key to the success of tackling climate change and making the food system more sustainable. “We want to support the communities we source from, and those we serve,” she says. 

“Part of that involves looking to the future by engaging with the youth voice, our future employees. We cannot do any of this alone, of course, and we need others to come along with us. 

“Regeneration must be advanced at scale, because the scale of the challenge demands it. If we don’t stop deforestation, if behaviours do not change quickly enough, we won’t be able to meet that challenge.”

Dr Keller adds: “That’s why we are very excited about the opportunities COP 26 presents to set out the agenda for the next decade of action.

“We want to ensure the food sector is firmly in the debate, to help us become part of the solution.”

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Company is a hive of positive engagement on biodiversity

WITH A UK workforce of more than 8000, Nestlé is keen to engage with workers on a range of initiatives to tackle climate change and meet net zero targets.

“Our workforce wants to see us take action, and so far, employee feedback on the measures we are taking has been positive,” explains Dr Emma Keller.

“Sustainability should not matter only to those who have sustainability in their job titles. It should be part of everyone’s job.”

Dr Keller joined Nestlé 10 months ago, having previously worked for WWF.

“It is a huge change of scene, from an NGO into the corporate sector, but it is a fantastic time to be in this role as Nestle steps up to the plate in the fight against climate change,” she says.

“My role is very diverse, encompassing everything from building collaborative solutions and upskilling colleagues on sustainability, to bringing our sustainability goals to life, to talking to government departments about new policies and opportunities for public private partnerships, and getting my head down to develop strategies that will help us to deliver our ambitious goals.”

Dr Keller adds: “We have created a safe space for employees to engage with us on sustainability, whatever role they have in the company. Whether it’s knowing their brand inside out and coming up with a new idea for sustainable packaging or – like one group of employees have done – installing beehives at the York factory to produce honey and help biodiversity.” 

She smiles: “This is great for biodiversity and it is fantastic that so many employees are excited and engaged about what we are trying to achieve.”

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An appetite for innovation

IN THE fight against climate change, a big part of the food and drink sector's future is plant-based.

So, Nestlé is innovating and renovating its portfolio to make it healthier and more sustainable while exploring opportunities to shift to more plant-based ingredients.

“Nature-based solutions are going to be essential,” explains Dr Keller.  “As the world’s largest food and drink company, we depend on nature for our very existence.” 

In the UK and Ireland, Nestle has 80 brands and 97 per cent of households consume a Nestlé product, from confectionery like KitKat and Smarties to coffee favourites like Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto.

“Starting with important ingredients like dairy, we’re working with suppliers like First Milk to reduce environmental impact and improve animal health and well-being," explains Ms Keller. “At the same time we recognise that some consumers want an alternative to dairy milk and we have recently launched a plant-based milk made from pea-protein, which is fantastic. We have also launched our Garden Gourmet range of plant-based alternatives to traditional meat dishes which will be certified carbon neutral by 2022.”

Dr Keller adds: “Every cup of Nespresso coffee will also be carbon neutral in the same timeframe, building on more than 10 years of work to reduce emissions across its business operations and working with the coffee growers to improve practices and plant trees that sequester carbon, improve soil fertility and can also help to improve the quantity and quality of the coffee yield.”

This article is brought to you in association with Nestle as part of The Herald's 100 Days of Hope campaign.