With peak carbon behind it, Nestlé zeros in on dairy emissions

Nestlé is showing its ambition on sustainability for its biggest raw material: dairy. The company is expanding initiatives aiming at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, preserving water resources and supporting regenerative agriculture on the farms it sources milk from. This includes over 100 pilot projects with partners around the world, including 20 farms already on a path to achieve net zero emissions in the near future. Nestlé will share its experience from these projects as it scales up its efforts and encourages wider industry transformation.

Alongside environmental sustainability, Nestlé will focus on two further pillars: 'Families' so that nutrition, quality and traceability remain front and center for consumers. 'Communities' so that dairy farming communities are at the center of the initiatives, including training on farm management, empowering women and developing young farmers.

Mayank Trivedi, head of the Dairy Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé, says, "We believe it is possible to step up sustainability in dairy and even go to net zero. We will take a leadership role in advancing positive change with all those working along with us in the dairy supply chain. Across the world, we are implementing full-scale projects and pilots in partnership with farmers and suppliers to help us scale up solutions aiming at lowering our environmental footprint. Our actions on dairy are very important to achieve Nestlé’s ambition of reaching net zero emissions."

Milk and dairy ingredients are Nestlé's biggest raw material by volume, used in its dairy and infant nutrition products, ice cream, beverages and confectionery. They are also the biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the company. Nestlé's dairy and livestock supply chains accounted for 34.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO_2e) in 2018, so tackling this is a priority. Some key actions already taken to reduce and mitigate emissions include projects related to feed and herd management, farm energy sources and efficiency, as well as better management of manure. Farms are also working to sequester more carbon on their premises, acting on soil health and grazing, and planting trees in dairy farms.