Alliance with Nestlé for sustainable sourcing and climate change mitigation
Food production has intensified in recent decades, generating environmental impacts. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) points to agricultural activity, and especially intensive models, as one of the most important causes of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
These productions are a current reality for food production and at Fundación Global Nature we want to help to turn them towards a more sustainable model, aware that, due to their scale, small changes in this area can mean very significant advances in terms of their environmental impact.
We work with Nestlé and accompany their technical staff on the path towards sustainable food production in different areas of agriculture and livestock farming:
Vegetables
Since 2016 and in the ZEMENA area (Europe, Middle East and North Africa), we have established an accompaniment system for Nestlé’s main vegetable suppliers (14 processors and suppliers until 2021).
Over a three-year period, we assess the entire food supply volume through 30 agri-environmental indicators covering aspects such as soil, nutrients, water, pest control, food waste, etc. As a result of this work, suppliers take action through plans to improve their farming practices and the design of Biodiversity Action Plans, i.e. specific, tangible, quantifiable and verifiable measures for improvement in the field, based on key indicators to evaluate progress in the conservation and improvement of the flora and fauna on their land.
The Action Plans include agronomic measures, biodiversity measures and climate change measures. This work translates into environmental improvements on thousands of hectares.
Cereals
We are working with Nestlé Spain to introduce assessment tools, indicators and best practices in the production of cereals for baby food, moving towards regenerative agriculture and improving the company’s profile in the management of natural resources such as soil.
We have pilot farms in Castilla y León to verify the potential of the measures implemented and generate action plans that can be replicated in other areas.
Dairy Products
Climate change is one of the most serious challenges of our time, and the global livestock sector contributes a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2021, we started working with Nestlé’s dairy farms in Spain to achieve the company’s 2050 climate neutrality target, supporting 400 supplier farms in the transition to more competitive livestock farming, with improved biodiversity and climate performance.
