Global links icon Nestlé UK and Ireland Global links dropdown

Change Language

  1. Home
  2. Sustainability
  3. People and Planet
  4. Acting on climate change
  5. Our road to net zero

Our road to net zero

net zero

Tackling climate change can’t wait and neither can we.

Nestlé is using its size, scale and reach to tackle climate change and make a big difference. We are transforming our business and using our resources to inspire change.

Building on a decade of action, we will halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 - even as our business continues to grow.

We are playing a leading role by tackling emissions across our business and supply chain. We are supporting farmers and suppliers to advance regenerative agriculture, planting 20 million trees every year for the next 10 years and completing our transition to 100% renewable electricity globally by 2025. Additionally, we are increasing the number of ‘carbon neutral’ brands.

Our path to net zero addresses three main areas

Supporting regenerative agriculture 

We work closely with farmers, suppliers and communities where we operate to source our ingredients in a way that generates positive environmental and social impacts. 

  • Working with farmers to adopt practices that tackle climate change and enhance livelihoods
  • Motivating our suppliers around the world to join us on our journey to net zero.
  • Planting 20 million trees every year for the next 10 years.
  • Ensuring our suppliers of key commodities are completely deforestation-free by 2022

Achieving net zero emissions will involve big changes to the way we make our products. 

  • Moving to 100% renewable electricity for all 800 sites globally, which we have already achieved in the UK & Ireland.
  • Switching global fleet of owned or contracted vehicles to lower emission options by 2022 and to offset any reminding emissions.

Using our know-how and resources, we will transform our portfolio with products that are ‘good for you and good for the planet’.

  • Lowering the impact of our recipes
  • Improving how we measure and manage emissions
  • Moving towards carbon neutral brands

Nestlé UK and Ireland has been working to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions for over a decade and we have achieved a 61% reduction per tonne of product since 2007 as a result of a combination of energy efficiency improvements and the transition to renewable energy.

In 2016, all of our factories and offices in the UK and Ireland transitioned to 100% renewable grid-supplied electricity by investing in the development of new wind power capacity. We have also invested in renewable technologies to generate our own green energy, such as solar panels, hydropower, anaerobic digestion and biomass.

windfarm
Since 2016, all of our grid-supplied electricity comes from renewable sources provided by a wind farm at Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland and an offshore farm off the North East Coast run by Ørsted.
solar energy

Solar energy is the most common form of renewable energy in the world. There are more than 4,000 solar panels at our factories in Fawdon and Tutbury. These generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 254 average UK households for about a year.

nestle waters

Hydropower is one of the oldest renewable energies generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from falling water.

Our factory in Buxton, which is one of Europe's most innovative and efficient factories, gets 30% of its electricity from hydropower.

anaerobic digester

Our factory in Fawdon sends its liquid waste from production to the on-site anaerobic digester plant, where naturally occurring bacteria digest the waste, creating biogas. The biogas fuels a combined heat and power engine that can power up to 4% of the factory's energy needs - all from some waste Fruit Pastilles or Rolos.

tutbury factory

Our Nescafé factory in Tutbury uses waste coffee grounds to produce power for the factory.

By turning what would otherwise be a waste product into a source of renewable energy we are not only reducing transportation and the carbon emissions associated with it but also minimising waste.

green transport
Through our Green Transport Plan, we are trying to reduce our impact on the environment by encouraging our employees in the UK to consider one of four alternatives: cycling, walking, public transport or using an electric car to get to work.
net zero roadmap
To The Top