Nestlé is investing $1.77 billion to transition to a regenerative food system, including a new living income program for farmers in its value chain, over the next five years. Nestlé’s network includes more than 500,000 farmers and 150,000 suppliers.
The investment will drive regenerative agricultural practices across the company’s entire supply chain and include programs to aid social and economic challenges during the transition.
Specific plans for coffee and cocoa supply chains will be announced later this year, the company said.
Nestlé chair Paul Bulcke said: “We know that regenerative agriculture plays a critical role in improving soil health, restoring water cycles and increasing biodiversity for the long term.”
The regenerative food system concept aims to protect and restore the environment, improve the livelihood of farmers, and enhance the well-being of farming communities. It includes biodiversity enhancement, soil conservation, regeneration of water cycles and integration of livestock.
“These outcomes form the foundation of sustainable food production and, crucially, also contribute to achieving our ambitious climate targets,” Bulcke said.
Agriculture accounts for nearly two-thirds of Nestlé's total greenhouse gas emissions, with dairy and livestock making up about half of that. The company is working with 30 reference dairy farms in 12 countries to test scalable, climate-friendly, and regenerative agricultural practices that help achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
It is also working with farmers to select and cultivate pulse varieties to be used as milk alternatives.
The company said it would help farmers adopt regenerative practices through:
- state-of-the-art science and technology, provide technical assistance: Leveraging its vast network of R&D experts and agronomists, Nestlé is, for example, developing higher-yielding coffee and cocoa varieties with lower environmental impact and assessing novel solutions to reduce emissions in the dairy supply chain. Nestlé will also offer agricultural training and help farmers exchange information and best practices that can be adapted locally.
- investment support: The transition to regenerative agriculture comes with initial risks and new costs. Nestlé will support farmers by co-investing with them, facilitating lending or helping them obtain loans for specific equipment. The company will also work with partners to fund pilot projects to test and learn how best to advance regenerative agriculture.
- paying premiums for regenerative agriculture goods: Nestlé will offer premiums for many raw materials produced using regenerative agriculture practices and buy bigger quantities. This means rewarding farmers not only for the quantity and quality of ingredients, but also for the benefits they provide to the environment through soil protection, water management and carbon sequestration.
Nestlé’s regeneration efforts are launching under the umbrella title of ‘Generation Regeneration’ focused on farmers, youth, consumers, and its own employees.
“Regenerative agriculture contributes to a regenerative food system, which should be fair and transparent for all participants. Nestlé is committed to supporting improved and diversified farmer incomes through its sustainability programs,” the company said.
In November, Nestlé is launching a new training platform to attract and train the next generation of farmers. The training will focus on regenerative agriculture practices and improving the resilience of farms to climate change for more than 40,000 farmers participating in one of Nestlé’s agripreneurship programs.
The company made the announcement in the lead up to next week’s UN Food Systems Summit and following the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that showed the climate crisis was intensifying.
Nestlé is also signatory of the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C Pledge and was one of the first companies to share its detailed, time-bound climate plan in December 2020. The company is taking measures to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
