My Road to Net Zero

In 2000 I began my professional efforts on climate change. It has been an uphill struggle, punctuated with occasional successes thanks to some far-thinking clients. 

In 2005 I was invited to make my first board presentation on climate change. It did not go well. Board members expressed more concern over the temperature of their swimming pools than the planet. I left angry and frustrated.

In 2009 the global agreement at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen fell far short of what was needed.

In 2016 the Paris Agreement proved a breakthrough, but the lack of political will to deliver including Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement, a 3-degree trajectory, and increasing evidence of climate change impacts in the news every day tempered any optimism.

Twenty years on and with a new US administration coming into power and China’s announcement of climate neutrality by 2060, I am now hopeful.

That hope comes, in part from the changing political environment, but also from big shifts in business and society: the Greta-led youth movement, investors seriously considering climate risk, sustained pressure from NGOs and civil society and the number of businesses, universities, cities and regions committing to the UN Race to Zero campaign. Each of these actions reinforces the others, bringing the possibility of exponential change in climate action. 

It also comes from working for a company that recognises its future success is dependent on its efforts to combat climate change. So much so that it is one the first companies to share a detailed time-bound net zero plan.

Nestlé, today sets out the measures it is taking to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. 

Why not sooner than 2050? Because as an agriculture-based business nearly 95% of our carbon emissions are Scope 3 - primarily in the sourcing of our products (71%) harder to reach than simply switching energy source for example.

Our focus will be on regenerative agriculture, soils and forests. We will work with the half million farmers that we directly source ingredients from to help them implement regenerative agricultural practices, while improving livelihoods. By 2030, we target a 44% reduction in GHG emissions from investing in soil health and forests compared to our 2018 in-scope baseline.

Working directly with farmers also enables us to remove greenhouse gases using natural solutions - protecting and improving the landscapes that absorb carbon. By 2030, we plan to remove 13 million tonnes of CO2e emissions from the atmosphere through improved agricultural practices.

It is not just about our actions, we also have influence. As the world’s largest food and beverage company we will use our voice to galvanise action and help accelerate the transformation of economic and social systems for a net zero carbon future.

As the UN Production Gap report starkly reminded us only yesterday, there is still much to do. But despair leads to inaction. We have hope, so let’s use it.

Read more about Nestlé’s road to net zero.