Nestlé | Council for Inclusive Capitalism

Unlocking the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. That is our purpose. We are the Good food, Good life company. We believe in the power of food to enhance lives. Good food nourishes and delights the senses. It helps children grow healthy, pets thrive, parents age gracefully and everyone live life to the fullest. Good food brings us together. Good food also respects our planet and protects resources for future generations. At Nestlé, we constantly explore and push the boundaries of what is possible with foods, beverages, and nutritional health solutions to enhance quality of life and contribute to a healthier future. We focus our energy and resources where unlocking the power of food can make the greatest difference to the lives of people and pets, protect and enhance the environment, and generate significant value for our shareholders and stakeholders alike. We have more than 2 000 brands ranging from global icons to local favorites, and are present in 186 countries worldwide.

Purpose

Our purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come.

Mark Schneider

CEO, Nestlé

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Mark Schneider

Sep-07, 2022

Embedding Human Rights in the Chocolate Industry

We believe it is vital to state clearly to the world the set of our beliefs about Inclusive Capitalism. As such, we start with our Statement of Guiding Principles for Inclusive Capitalism. Knowing that words alone are not enough, each of us is making a series of commitments about how we will operate our institutions so that they help achieve Inclusive Capitalism. These commitments are forward-looking statements based on current goals, expectations and assumptions, which are not guarantees of future performance. For more information, please refer to our Terms of Use

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Summary

Our Forest Positive strategy builds on our decade-long work to end deforestation in our supply chains. Forest Positive means moving beyond just managing deforestation risks to targeting a positive impact on our broader sourcing landscapes.

Activities & Initiatives

Our Forest Positive strategy aims to help conserve and restore the world’s forests and natural ecosystems while promoting sustainable livelihoods and respecting human rights, including empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to be stewards of critical natural ecosystems. Understanding the drivers of deforestation and creating the right incentives for forest conservation and the preservation of natural ecosystems are key to our approach. This is why we will go beyond our supply chain. Our actions will include rewarding suppliers for practices that keep trees standing, regenerate the land and respect human rights. Our strategy has three pillars: I. Deforestation-free supply chains Nestlé will achieve and maintain 100% deforestation-free supply chains using tools such as supply chain mapping, on-the-ground assessments, certification and satellite monitoring, by 2022 for meat, palm oil, pulp and paper, soya and sugar primary supply chains, and by 2025 for coffee and cocoa. II. Long-term forest conservation and restoration in our supply chains We will take action to help keep forests standing and restore degraded forests and natural ecosystems while respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Nestlé will grow 200 million trees by 2030. III. Sustainable landscapes We will embark on Forest Positive engagement at scale to help transform the key landscapes we source from for the future. Nestlé will support 15 sustainable landscape initiatives by 2023.

Measures & Targets

I. Deforestation-free supply chains
Nestlé will assess the percentage of in-scope supply chains that are deforestation-free using tools such as supply chain mapping, on-the-ground assessments, certification and satellite monitoring, with a goal of 100% deforestation free by 2022 for meat, palm oil, pulp and paper, soya and sugar primary supply chains, and by 2025 for coffee and cocoa.

II. Long-term forest conservation and restoration in our supply chains
Nestlé will measure the number of trees secured for planting each year through its reforestation projects, aiming to grow 200 million trees by 2030.

III. Sustainable landscapes
Nestlé will measure the number of sustainable landscape initiatives supported, with a view to supporting 15 initiatives by 2023.

Summary

Nestlé will work towards a world where none of its packaging ends up in landfill or as litter on land or in seas, oceans and waterways, by making 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025

Activities & Initiatives

In 2019, Nestlé joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative. We pledged to work across the industry to create a circular economy for plastic, starting with packaging – eliminating unnecessary plastic in our packaging and innovating to make the plastic that we do need recyclable and reusable (as per Ellen MacArthur Foundation definitions). Our intention is to follow the nine Golden Rules, which are voluntary, independent and time-bound commitments on which all members of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition for Action are aligned in order to drive progress in packaging design and development toward a circular model. Scaling reusable and refillable systems to eliminate the need for disposable packaging is one pillar of our packaging strategy. We are testing and scaling different models of single-use packaging-free delivery and reusable and refillable solutions. For example, in Canada, we established new refillable packaging pilots through our partner TerraCycle’s online Loop platform, which allows people to order refills for home delivery. Once products are consumed, containers are collected from homes or at drop-off locations in store, cleaned and put back into circulation. In France, we are offering this service in partnership with leading supermarket chain Carrefour, where Nesquik, Ricoré coffee and Chocapic Bio (organic) cereals are now available in reusable Loop containers. Vittel and S.Pellegrino natural mineral waters in Carrefour stores in Paris can also be purchased in reusable glass bottles from Loop with a deposit. Customers get their deposits back, paid directly into their bank accounts, once they have returned their used bottles. Similarly, in Canada, Häagan-Dazs can be purchased in reusable containers, while other refillable pilots are ongoing with major retailers in the country, as well as in the United States. for dairy, coffee and waters.

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure progress by tracking the percentage of our packaging that is recyclable or reusable, with a goal of 100% by 2025.

Summary

Nestlé Waters will advance the regeneration of the water cycle to help create a positive water impact everywhere our waters business operates by 2025.

Activities & Initiatives

Our bottled-water business, including brands such as Perrier, S.Pellegrino, Vittel and Buxton, aims to advance the regeneration of the water cycle to help create a positive water impact everywhere it operates by 2025. Our plan is to implement more than 100 projects around our 48 global waters sites, supported by a CHF 120 million investment. From 2025 onwards, our aim is for these projects to help nature retain more water than our bottled- water business uses. All projects are measurable, using the World Resources Institute’s Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting methodology. This methodology provides consistency in analyzing water management activities and helps focus our activities on addressing current and future shared water challenges. Using this methodology, a newly created external panel will review the relevance and sustainability of the projects and give feedback on whether they are helping to address local challenges and opportunities. Nestlé Waters will strive toward continued reporting of water usage at each of its sites and on what its projects contribute to the area. Across Nestlé, we will continue to work to achieve good water resource management throughout our operations and agricultural supply chains.

Measures & Targets

Nestlé Waters will measure the number of projects to advance the regeneration of local water cycles around its 48 global waters sites. Our plan is to implement more than 100 projects and help create a positive water impact everywhere we operate by 2025.

Summary

Nestlé will work towards a world where none of its packaging ends up in landfill or as litter on land or in seas, oceans and waterways, by reducing our use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025.

Activities & Initiatives

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure progress by tracking the percentage reduction in virgin plastics use, with a goal of reducing our use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025

Summary

Nestlé aims for 100% of key ingredients to be produced sustainably by 2030. We aim to achieve sustainable and resilient food supply chains in which growers and environments are protected.

Activities & Initiatives

Our new ‘produced sustainably’ KPI builds on our Responsible Sourcing Standard, which sets out basic non-negotiable standards and important sustainability practices that we ask our suppliers and their employees, agents and subcontractors to respect and adhere to at all times when conducting business with us. It applies to 14 key agricultural raw materials that cover 95% of our annual sourcing by volume: coffee; cocoa; dairy; sugar; cereals and grains; hazelnuts; palm oil; pulp and paper; soya; vegetables; spices; coconut; fish and seafood; and meat, poultry and eggs.

‘Produced sustainably’ means the origin of the key ingredient is known and the direct supplier is progressing to address social and environmental performance. The minimum criteria to define if a raw material is produced sustainably are: Traceable back to the point of origin (farm or group of farms)
Human rights and environmental due-diligence systems are in place to assess, address and report on the potential or actual impacts in the supply chain
The tier-1 supplier is measurably progressing in addressing actual or potential human rights and environmental impacts identified in its supply chain, as well as animal welfare where applicable

For each key raw material in scope, criteria have been defined to take into account their specificities.

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure progress by tracking the percentage of key ingredients that are produced sustainably, with a goal of 100% by 2030.

Summary

Nestlé is committed to respecting and promoting human rights by publishing salient issue action plans for our 10 salient issues by the end of 2022. These action plans will include key performance indicators

Activities & Initiatives

Our new Human Rights Framework puts due diligence at the core of our approach and defines the five enablers that support our work. To enhance our due diligence, we are developing and implementing dedicated action plans for each of our salient issues. Our salient issues are those human rights at risk of the most severe negative impact on people through our activities or business relationships. By the end of 2022, we will develop and publish a dedicated action plan for each of our salient issues. These plans will articulate our strategy for assessing, addressing and reporting on each salient issue, defining what we need to do across our value chain, as well as what collective action can be taken. Our salient issues are:

Living income and living wage
Forced labor and responsible recruitment
Health and safety at work
Gender equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment
Right to water and sanitation
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ land rights
Data protection and privacy
Child labor risks and access to education
Right to food and access to nutritious, affordable and adequate diets

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure success by publishing salient issue action plans for our 10 salient issues. By 2025, we will be reporting on our progress on implementing our salient issue action plans.

Summary

Nestlé will support young people through our ambition to help 10 million young people around the world have access to economic opportunities by 2030.

Activities & Initiatives

Our work to create opportunities for young people is run through our Nestlé needs YOUth initiative. The initiative has three pillars of activity: Agripreneurship, Entrepreneurship and Employability. Under each of the three pillars we create broad and diverse opportunities for youth, with varied levels of engagement and potential impact on the future of the individuals involved. For example, we provide online training and content and make it widely available to increase their level of employability. This also helps raise awareness among young people about the challenges of today’s world of work and how to overcome them. We also provide on-the-job training opportunities for young individuals through programs such as Nesternship and our R+D Accelerators. Agripreneurship Encouraging young people to create livelihoods as farmers, to run their farms as businesses and to use regenerative agriculture methods in support of a just transition to regenerative food systems. Entrepreneurship Promoting fresh thinking and product innovation through our R+D Accelerators in locations all over the world. Employability Providing youth access to economic opportunities by offering jobs, traineeships, internships (including through digital Get Support events and our virtual Nesternship program), apprenticeships and training.

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure progress by tracking the number of young people with access to economic opportunities, with a goal of 10 million by 2030.

Summary

Nestlé will promote gender equality through our aim to increase the proportion of women in our top 200+ senior executive positions to 30% by 2022.

Activities & Initiatives

Our Gender Balance Acceleration Plan aims to increase the proportion of women in our top 200+ senior executive posts. We carefully monitor our succession planning to ensure that we have the right pipeline for our most critical business roles and provide career support and guidance through our Senior Leader Development Roadmap (Corporate Mentoring Program, Senior Leaders Development Assessment Center and Senior Executive Program).

Measures & Targets

Nestlé will measure progress by tracking the proportion of women in our top 200+ senior executive positions, with the aim of increasing this to 30% by 2022

Summary

Nestlé will halve absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 at the latest.

Activities & Initiatives

The priority for our science-based Net Zero Roadmap is to reduce our absolute emissions, even as our company continues to grow. We’re transforming our manufacturing and packaging activities and working throughout our supply chain to help achieve this. Our plan includes investing CHF 1.2 billion to help spark regenerative agriculture by working with farmers, as part of a total investment by Nestlé of CHF 3.2 billion in climate action by 2025.

Our milestones

100% deforestation free for primary supply chain by 2022
Switch our global car fleet to lower emission options by 2022
100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2023
100% renewable electricity in all our sites by 2025
100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025
100% certified sustainable and deforestation free cocoa and coffee by 2025
Source 20% of key ingredients through regenerative agricultural methods by 2025
Cut virgin plastic in our packaging by a third by 2025
Plant 20 million trees a year
Nestlé Waters becomes carbon neutral by 2025
Use more renewable thermal energy in our manufacturing
Source 50% of key ingredients through regenerative agricultural methods by 2030
Plant 200 million trees by 2030

Measures & Targets

Climate change is one of society's greatest challenges. It is also one of the greatest risks to the future of our business.

Solving it requires all of us to act with great urgency. Nestlé may be only one player, but we have the size, scale and reach to influence many more and to inspire collective action.

From now until 2025, we will accelerate and expand the work already undertaken to achieve a 20% reduction in emissions. Between 2025 and 2030, we will transform our operations to achieve a 50% reduction of emissions. And finally, from 2030 to 2050, we will work to balance our emissions by exploring how we offset any remaining emissions through high-quality carbon removal projects or innovation, the result of which will be net zero emissions.

To achieve those milestones we are taking action across agriculture, our operations and products, including:

Protecting trees and landscapes that help absorb carbon and planting 20 million trees every year for the next 10 years.
Working with farmers to shift to regenerative ways of growing ingredients for food, including for the products we produce.
Ending deforestation in our primary supply chains by 2022.
Completing the transition to 100% renewable electricity in the 187 countries where we operate by 2025.
Increasing the number of 'carbon neutral' brands to give consumers the opportunity to contribute to the fight against climate change.

Nestle will measure progress by tracking absolute carbon dioxide equivalent reductions in millions of tonnes:

By 2025 we will reduce our emissions by 20% from 2018 levels
By 2030 we will reduce our emissions by 50% from 2018 levels
By 2050 we will reach net zero

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Recognizing it will take alignment of all our organizations to scale impact globally, we invite you to join the movement as a Steward of Inclusive Capitalism. Together, the collective action of Council members will contribute to a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable future for all people and our planet.