Nestlé’s sustainability program is structured around the company’s Creating Shared Value approach, with the most recent disclosure being the Non-Financial Statement 2025, published February 19, 2026. The strategy is built on three interconnected pillars of Climate, Regenerative agriculture and Circularity, with Nutrition at the core, and is underpinned by the Nestlé Net Zero Roadmap first published in 2020 and validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative against a 1.5°C pathway. The headline result of the 2025 report is that Nestlé met and overshot its 2025 GHG reduction milestone, with a 24.52% net reduction against a 2018 baseline versus a 20% target. In governance terms, 2025 was a significant year, with the role of Chief Sustainability Officer reporting to the Group CEO formally established in January, and the Executive Board reorganized from five Zones to three. Independent assurance over selected KPIs is provided by Ernst & Young under ISAE 3000. The report covers food safety, nutrition, water, biodiversity, packaging, human rights, and supplier due diligence under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive framework and references both the Global Reporting Initiative and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board indexes.

• Group revenue 2024: CHF 91.4 billion, with operations in 188 countries (Annual Report 2024).
• Net GHG emission reduction vs. 2018 baseline reached 24.52% in 2025, exceeding the 20% milestone target (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• CDP A-List rating for climate change achieved in 2025, with water security at A- and forests at B (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• MSCI ESG rating upgraded to AA in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Sustainalytics ESG Risk score of 17.0 in 2025, ranking third out of more than 300 packaged-food companies (Non-Financial Statement 2025).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/creating-shared-value-nestle-2025.pdf

Sustainability Strategy and Goals

Nestlé’s roadmap maps to UN SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land), and is anchored in SBTi-validated near-term and long-term targets aligned with a 1.5°C pathway. The roadmap is operationalized through five core policies: the Nestlé Net Zero Roadmap, the Responsible Sourcing Core Requirements, the Agriculture Framework, the Human Rights Framework and Roadmap, and the Rules of Packaging Sustainability. Executive remuneration is linked to ESG outcomes, with 15% of the Short-Term Bonus Plan tied to five equally weighted KPIs (affordable nutrition with micronutrient fortification, GHG reductions, virgin plastic reduction, regenerative agriculture practices, and management positions held by women) and 20% of the Long-Term Incentive Plan tied to GHG reductions.

Net Zero and Carbon Emissions

Nestlé’s climate strategy targets a 20% net GHG reduction by 2025, 50% by 2030, and net zero by 2050 from a 2018 baseline, all SBTi-validated. The 2025 result of 24.52% net reduction exceeded the milestone, driven by a 32.4% absolute cut in Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) Scope 3 emissions and a 17.0% reduction in energy and industrial emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3. Cocoa-related emissions fell 46.5% and fresh milk emissions 37.8% versus 2018 — the dairy result reflects supplier engagement, methane-targeted feed practices, and manure management. Tracking is handled by Nestlé’s internal Greenhouse Gas Performance System, aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. The roadmap glide path uses three IPCC scenarios (RCP8.5, RCP4.5, SSP1-1.9) for transition and physical risk modeling, in partnership with Risilience and Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies. An updated 2026-2050 plan is expected following completion of the first milestone.

Water Stewardship

Water use in manufacturing fell by 2.9 million cubic meters in 2025, with 2.0 million cubic meters saved in water-stressed sites. Nestlé applies the Alliance for Water Stewardship standard at certified factories and is piloting science-based targets for nature on water quality as a pollution indicator. Water stewardship is governed by the Nestlé Environmental Requirements Standard and embedded in the Agriculture Framework, which treats watershed protection as a regenerative-agriculture pillar alongside soil and biodiversity. Coverage gaps remain in upstream agriculture, which accounts for the majority of the value chain’s water footprint and is harder to measure than direct factory withdrawal.

Regenerative Agriculture

Nestlé’s headline 2030 target is 50% of volumes of 14 key ingredients sourced from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices. The 2025 milestone was 20%, and Nestlé reported 27.6% on the broader KPI definition (20.38% under the narrower core KPI). The framework rests on five pillars: biodiversity, water stewardship, soil health, diverse cropping systems with livestock integration, and collective landscape action. Investment is concentrated in dairy and coffee, with the Income Accelerator program scaling cocoa farmer support to 160,000 households across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Adoption is verified by farm-level assessment tools with crop-specific criteria. The KIT Royal Tropical Institute published a 2025 progress report on the Income Accelerator showing measurable gains in school enrollment, agroforestry uptake, and income diversification, though scaling beyond cocoa remains the harder test.

Deforestation and Biodiversity

Deforestation-free assessment for primary supply chains in palm oil, pulp and paper, soy, sugar, meat, cocoa, and coffee reached 96.7% in 2025 against a 100% target. The cut-off date varies by commodity but is no later than December 31, 2020. The miss is largely in cocoa and coffee, where smallholder traceability is hardest. Nestlé contributes to the One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition and joined the WBCSD Landscape Accelerator in Brazil. Biodiversity is addressed through the Agriculture Framework’s pollinator, soil, and habitat pillars rather than as a stand-alone strategy, which is a credible approach for an agricultural footprint but harder to benchmark against TNFD-style nature disclosure.

Packaging and Circular Economy

Nestlé reduced virgin plastic use by 28.0% versus a 2018 baseline in 2025 (21.3% under the narrower core KPI), against a 33% reduction target — a clear miss. Plastic packaging designed for recycling reached 87.5%, against an original commitment of 100% by 2025 — also a miss. The company committed CHF 1.5 billion to support the development of food-grade recycled plastics, and supports reuse and refill pilots through the Global Alliance to Advance Reuse. The Nestlé Rules of Packaging Sustainability and a Negative List govern material choices. Food loss tracking from factories was strengthened in 2025 but unified KPI reporting remains a work in progress.

Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing

The Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) program covered 70.3% of in-scope key ingredients’ spend in 2025. Of the 14 key ingredients, 49.8% were responsibly sourced under the Responsible Sourcing Core Requirements. The Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System operates in cocoa-sourcing communities and is being integrated with national systems in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Salient Issue Action Plans cover priority suppliers and countries. Audits follow SMETA Best Practice Guidance. The Income Accelerator reached 160,000 farming households in 2025, with 45% of the assessed supply base moving toward living income standards. Living wage commitments are tracked but absolute coverage data remains limited.

Nutrition and Health

Nestlé offered 135.4 billion servings of affordable nutrition with micronutrient fortification in 2025. The Nutrition, Health and Wellness Council, supported by a Head of NHW and a Chief Nutritionist appointed in 2025, oversees portfolio reformulation, claims policy, labeling standards, and WHO Code compliance for breast milk substitutes. The 2024 Access to Nutrition Index ranked Nestlé 9th out of 30 global food and beverage manufacturers — a middle-of-the-pack score that the company itself flags. Reformulation toward lower sugar, sodium, and fat continues to be the primary lever, and the gap between the affordable-nutrition narrative and the bulk of the portfolio’s sales mix is the area most scrutinized by external rankings.

Community and Social Impact

Nestlé surpassed its 2030 target of supporting 10 million young people through its global youth program, reaching 10.2 million since 2017. Partnerships include World Central Kitchen (renewed three-year disaster relief), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (five-year strategic partnership for the Disaster Response Emergency Fund and the Africa Hunger Crisis appeal), and the Nestlé Food Bank Alliance launched in 2025 with the Global FoodBanking Network, the European Foodbanks Federation, and Feeding America. A first-of-its-kind partnership with the World Farmers’ Organisation supports climate adaptation for farmers.

Governance and Transparency

The Board of Directors approves the Non-Financial Statement, with oversight from the Sustainability Committee and Audit Committee. The ESG and Sustainability Council, chaired by the CSO and the EVP Head of Strategic Business Units, Marketing and Sales, met 12 times in 2025. Independent assurance is provided by EY under ISAE 3000 on select KPIs. The 2025 report is the company’s first prepared with reference to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, alongside continued reference to GRI and SASB Processed Foods standards. A new Code of Business Conduct was released in 2025.

Technology and Innovation

The Greenhouse Gas Performance System is Nestlé’s internal carbon accounting tool, pulling activity data from central purchasing and packaging systems and combining it with internal and external emission-factor databases. Climate scenario modeling is conducted with Risilience using methodologies from Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies. The company is testing AI-driven supply chain optimization, with public examples concentrated in Nestlé Waters logistics (route optimization, rail conversion). A CHF 100 million investment by 2030 in low-carbon logistics for S. Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, and Perrier funds rail conversion, alternative fuels including Bio-LNG, and a hydrogen-train pilot in France targeted to cut roughly 10,000 tonnes CO2e per year on its route.

Global Partnerships and Advocacy

Nestlé co-chairs the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, sits on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy Advisory Board, and is on the Steering Board of the Global Plastics Action Partnership. It participates in the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee process for a plastics treaty as an observer, in WBCSD work on regenerative landscapes, and in the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative platform’s Regenerating Together framework. Climate policy engagement across 22 industry associations was reviewed and published in 2025. The company has signed onto national determined contribution development in Brazil and the UK.

• Net GHG emissions cut 24.52% vs. 2018 baseline in 2025, exceeding the 20% target (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Regenerative agriculture sourcing reached 27.6% of key ingredient volumes in 2025 versus 20% milestone target (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Virgin plastic use down 28.0% vs. 2018 baseline in 2025, missing the 33% target (GreentechLead summary of 2025 disclosures).
• Affordable nutrition servings with micronutrient fortification: 135.4 billion in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Income Accelerator program reached 160,000 cocoa-farming households in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://www.nestle.com/sustainability/performance-reporting https://greentechlead.com/sustainability/nestle-2025-sustainability-targets-vs-achievements-highlight-climate-progress-and-circularity-gaps-52855 https://www.nestle.com/sustainability

Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies

Decarbonization levers across Nestlé’s operations concentrate on energy efficiency, electrification, and renewable thermal energy for factories, with heat pumps and biomass boilers replacing fossil-fueled steam generation at progressively larger sites. In 2025, 92% of manufacturing sites achieved zero waste to landfill status and 60.3% of the global vehicle fleet had transitioned to electric or hybrid alternatives. Packaging innovation has focused on switching from non-recyclable laminates to mono-material structures, paper-based wraps for KitKat in Japan and other Markets, and refill systems at Smarties and Maggi. The CHF 1.5 billion virgin-plastic-reduction investment funds food-grade recycled plastics development.

In raw-material sourcing, satellite-based deforestation monitoring underpins the 96.7% deforestation-free assessment. Starling, Airbus, and other geospatial providers feed into Nestlé’s supplier-traceability stack. In dairy, methane-reduction trials include feed additives (Bovaer-type 3-NOP compounds, seaweed feeds) and manure-management upgrades at supplier farms in New Zealand, Western Europe, and North America. In coffee, the Nescafé Plan 2030 and Nespresso AAA programs fund regenerative practices, agroforestry, and farm renovation. AI is applied in logistics route optimization and demand forecasting, with the Nestlé Waters investment program the most visible public example. Digital twins of factories are used for energy and water modeling in selected pilot sites. Natural climate solutions include landscape-scale restoration via the Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes and the WBCSD Landscape Accelerator in Brazil. Nestlé does not currently rely on retired carbon credits to meet SBTi-validated targets, treating removals from inside the value chain as the path to net reductions pending SBTi neutralization guidance.

• 92% of manufacturing sites at zero waste to landfill in 2025 (GreentechLead summary of 2025 disclosures).
• Global vehicle fleet 60.3% transitioned to lower-emission alternatives in 2025 (GreentechLead summary of 2025 disclosures).
• CHF 1.5 billion committed to food-grade recycled plastics development (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Plastic packaging designed for recycling: 87.5% in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• CHF 100 million low-carbon logistics investment for international water brands by 2030, including a hydrogen-train pilot targeting 10,000 tCO2e/year (Gulfood industry coverage of Nestlé Waters announcement).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://greentechlead.com/sustainability/nestle-2025-sustainability-targets-vs-achievements-highlight-climate-progress-and-circularity-gaps-52855 https://www.gulfood.com/insights/nestle-commits-107m-lower-carbon-footprint-three-international-water-brands

Measurable Impacts

The trajectory from 2023 to 2025 shows acceleration after a slow start. Net GHG reduction versus the 2018 baseline moved from 13.58% in 2023 to roughly 22.6% in 2024 to 24.52% in 2025, putting Nestlé ahead of the 20% milestone and roughly halfway toward the 50% 2030 target on the same trajectory. FLAG Scope 3 emissions, which dominate Nestlé’s footprint at over 90% of the total, fell 32.4% versus 2018. Energy and industrial Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are down 17.0% on the same baseline. The 2018 baseline footprint was 91.74 million tCO2e across Scopes 1, 2, and 3, and 2024 absolute emissions reflected a 22.63% reduction. Cocoa-related emissions fell 46.5%, and fresh milk emissions fell 37.8% versus 2018 — both reflect targeted supplier programs.

On non-climate metrics, the picture is more mixed. Water use in manufacturing fell by 2.9 million cubic meters in 2025, with 2.0 million in water-stressed sites. Manufacturing waste fell 18%. Renewable electricity share has continued to rise but full operations-wide 100% has not been claimed publicly. Virgin plastic reduction reached 28% (or 21.3% on the narrower KPI) — a meaningful absolute reduction but well short of the 33% milestone. Plastic packaging designed for recycling reached 87.5%, also short. Deforestation-free coverage reached 96.7%, short of 100%. Responsibly sourced key ingredients sat at 49.8% — the slowest-moving headline KPI in the portfolio.

• Net GHG reduction vs. 2018 baseline: 13.58% (2023) → ~22.63% (2024) → 24.52% (2025) (Non-Financial Statement 2025; Tracenable climate dataset).
• FLAG Scope 3 emissions reduction vs. 2018: 32.4% in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Energy and industrial Scope 1, 2 and 3 reduction vs. 2018: 17.0% in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Water use reduction in manufacturing: 2.9 million m³ in 2025, including 2.0 million m³ in water-stressed areas (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Cocoa-related emissions down 46.5% vs. 2018; fresh milk emissions down 37.8% vs. 2018 (GreentechLead summary of 2025 disclosures).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://tracenable.com/company/nestle/climate-targets https://greentechlead.com/sustainability/nestle-2025-sustainability-targets-vs-achievements-highlight-climate-progress-and-circularity-gaps-52855

Challenges and Areas for Improvement

Scope 3 emissions remain the structural challenge. They represent the overwhelming majority of Nestlé’s carbon footprint and depend on agricultural practice change across a fragmented smallholder supply base that the company does not own. Dairy is the largest single source within FLAG, and methane reductions at farm level are constrained by feed-additive cost, regulatory variation in additive approvals, and the slow pace of herd-management change. The 50% absolute reduction target by 2030 implies the company has to repeat the 2025 milestone scale of reduction four more times in five years against a continuing portfolio-growth backdrop — a steep curve, particularly without significant divestment of high-emission categories.

Packaging is the most visible miss. Both the 33% virgin plastic reduction target (reached 28%) and the 100% plastic-designed-for-recycling target (reached 87.5%) were not met in 2025. Nestlé has not yet quantified a 2030 successor target for total plastic reduction or reuse coverage that materially changes the trajectory, leaving a gap between rhetoric and operating model in flexible packaging and sachets specifically. The original 2018 commitment to 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025 was effectively softened in messaging into “designed for recycling,” which is a meaningfully weaker claim because real-world recycling rates depend on infrastructure outside the company’s control.

Deforestation-free assessment at 96.7% versus 100% reflects the difficulty of full smallholder traceability in cocoa and coffee. Responsibly sourced key ingredient volumes at 49.8% indicate that more than half of the in-scope ingredient base is not yet covered by the company’s responsible-sourcing framework, even at the assessment level. The 2024 Access to Nutrition Index ranking of 9th of 30 indicates the portfolio mix and reformulation pace are seen as middle-of-pack by external evaluators despite the affordable-nutrition servings volume. Plant-based and lower-emission portfolio growth has not scaled as fast as projected at the time of the original Net Zero Roadmap.

• Virgin plastic reduction: 28% vs. 33% target in 2025 — missed (GreentechLead summary of 2025 disclosures).
• Plastic packaging designed for recycling: 87.5% vs. 100% target in 2025 — missed (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Responsibly sourced key ingredient volumes: 49.8% in 2025 (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• Access to Nutrition Index 2024 ranking: 9th of 30 global food and beverage manufacturers (Non-Financial Statement 2025 citing 2024 ATNI).
• Scope 3 share of footprint: over 90% of total (consistent across 2023-2025 disclosures and Tracenable dataset).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://greentechlead.com/sustainability/nestle-2025-sustainability-targets-vs-achievements-highlight-climate-progress-and-circularity-gaps-52855 https://tracenable.com/company/nestle/ghg-emissions

Future Plans and Long-Term Goals

The Net Zero Roadmap targets a 50% absolute net reduction in GHG emissions versus the 2018 baseline by 2030, on a path to net zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050, with the 2030 figure SBTi-validated. The 50% regenerative agriculture sourcing target for 14 key ingredients also lands in 2030. An updated Net Zero Roadmap covering 2026 through 2050 will be published following the close of the first milestone period. On packaging, Nestlé continues to back a UN global plastics treaty and is investing in reuse and refill systems alongside the CHF 1.5 billion food-grade recycled-plastics commitment, though it has not yet replaced its missed 2025 targets with sharper interim figures for 2030.

Low-carbon logistics is a 2030 priority, anchored by the CHF 100 million Nestlé Waters investment in rail, alternative fuels, and the hydrogen-train pilot for international water brands. Lifecycle transparency continues to be developed through ISO-aligned product carbon footprinting and CDP-aligned disclosure. Relative to peers, Nestlé leads on FLAG Scope 3 reduction depth and on regenerative-agriculture KPI specificity, but lags Unilever on Scope 1 and 2 ambition (Unilever targets a 100% Scope 1+2 cut by 2030; Nestlé’s 50% net target is value-chain-wide) and lags Danone on SBTi-validated 2050 net-zero target depth (Danone’s 2050 90% absolute reduction was SBTi-validated in 2024). Nestlé has not yet published a fully comparable SBTi-validated net-zero 2050 absolute target under the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, which is increasingly the peer benchmark.

• 2030 absolute net GHG reduction target: 50% vs. 2018 baseline, SBTi-validated (Net Zero Roadmap).
• 2030 regenerative agriculture target: 50% of 14 key ingredient volumes from farmers adopting regenerative practices (Non-Financial Statement 2025).
• 2050 net-zero ambition across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 (Net Zero Roadmap; updated roadmap to follow).
• CHF 100 million low-carbon logistics commitment by 2030 for Nestlé Waters international brands (Gulfood coverage).
• CHF 1.5 billion committed to food-grade recycled plastics development (Non-Financial Statement 2025).

Source

Sources: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2026-02/non-financial-statement-2025.pdf https://www.gulfood.com/insights/nestle-commits-107m-lower-carbon-footprint-three-international-water-brands https://www.southpole.com/work/nestle-how-they-built-a-roadmap-to-net-zero

Comparisons to Industry Competitors

Unilever, the closest scale peer in consumer-packaged goods, has a stronger story on direct operations and a more ambitious near-term operations target. Unilever reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 74% versus 2015 by 2024, hitting its 70% by 2025 target two years early, and has set a 100% Scope 1+2 reduction target by 2030 from the same baseline. Its Scope 3 picture is rougher: the company restated its baseline upward in 2022 to 56 million tCO2e of in-scope value chain emissions, and reported only an 8% reduction in energy/industrial Scope 3 and a 14% reduction in FLAG Scope 3 versus 2021 by mid-2025. Unilever’s virgin plastic reduction reached 23% by late 2025 against a 30% by 2026 target, similar slippage to Nestlé’s. Head-to-head: Nestlé’s deeper FLAG Scope 3 cut (32.4% vs. Unilever’s 14%) is the more meaningful agricultural decarbonization signal, while Unilever’s near-complete Scope 1+2 decarbonization is the cleaner operational story.

Danone is the closest pure-food competitor and the cleanest SBTi peer. The 2050 net-zero target was SBTi-validated in 2024 against a 1.5°C pathway, and the company reported total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of 20.36 million tCO2e in 2024, down 7.9% versus 2023, with Scope 1+2 at 1.38 million tCO2e. Its 2030 targets are a 47.2% absolute Scope 1+2 reduction and a 42% absolute Scope 3 reduction versus 2020, plus a 30.3% Scope 3 FLAG cut. Regenerative agriculture coverage is reported per supply chain rather than across a key-ingredient basket. Head-to-head: Danone’s SBTi Net-Zero Standard validation gives it an edge on long-horizon credibility, while Nestlé’s absolute scale of FLAG reduction (largely cocoa and dairy) is the larger absolute environmental impact.

Mondelēz International, the closest snack and confectionery peer, had both its near-term 2030 and 2050 net-zero targets SBTi-validated in April 2024, on a base year of 2018. Disclosure depth on cocoa traceability is meaningful via the Cocoa Life program, similar in structure to Nestlé’s Income Accelerator. Mondelēz’s SBTi-validated targets exclude several Scope 3 categories (capital goods, upstream raw-materials transport, downstream transport, consumer use, end-of-life), narrowing the comparable scope. Head-to-head on cocoa: Nestlé reported a 46.5% emissions reduction in cocoa versus 2018 in 2025; Mondelēz reports cocoa-related progress under Cocoa Life acreage and household coverage rather than direct emissions, making like-for-like comparison difficult, which is itself a transparency gap.

• Unilever Scope 1+2 reduction vs. 2015: 74% by 2024; 2030 target is 100% (Unilever Climate Transition Action Plan and 2024 progress disclosures).
• Unilever Scope 3 FLAG reduction vs. 2021: 14% by 2025 (Unilever 2025 sustainability progress update).
• Danone total Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions: 20.36 million tCO2e in 2024, down 7.9% vs. 2023 (Danone 2024 Universal Registration Document).
• Danone 2030 Scope 1+2 absolute reduction target: 47.2% vs. 2020, SBTi-validated (Danone 2024 URD).
• Mondelēz near-term 2030 and 2050 net-zero targets: SBTi-validated April 2024 (Mondelēz press release; SBTi register).

Source

Sources: https://www.unilever.com/sustainability/climate/our-climate-transition-action-plan/ https://www.unilever.com/files/8b5df5f6-cb90-40fd-9691-38d06905d81d/unilever-climate-transition-action-plan-updated-2024.pdf https://www.danone.com/content/dam/corp/global/danonecom/investors/en-all-publications/2025/registrationdocuments/urd2024accessibleversion.pdf https://www.danone.com/sustainability/nature/driving-climate-action.html https://www.stocktitan.net/news/MDLZ/mondelez-international-s-near-term-2030-targets-and-2050-net-zero-w1v8q99xgraa.html

Nestlé’s 2025 report is, by the standards of food and beverage peer disclosure, unusually candid about misses. The company hit its 2025 climate target by a meaningful margin while missing its packaging targets by an equally meaningful one, and it said so directly rather than restating baselines or repositioning headlines. The deepest signal in the report is the 32.4% absolute FLAG Scope 3 reduction — agricultural decarbonization at this depth and pace is rare among peers, and the supplier engagement model behind it (Income Accelerator, Nescafé Plan, Sustainable Dairy programs) is more reproducible than the financial commitments alone suggest. The weakest signal is packaging, where the 2025 misses appear less like execution slippage and more like a strategy gap on flexible packaging and sachets that the next-roadmap update will need to close substantively rather than rhetorically.

Three takeaways are portable to other companies. First, separating reported KPIs into “core” and “broader” definitions (as Nestlé does for both plastic and regenerative agriculture) creates real transparency for those who read footnotes but is an obvious target for accusations of double-reporting; either choose the harder definition and report once, or be explicit about which is the governance metric. Second, executive remuneration tied to five equally weighted ESG KPIs (climate, plastic, regenerative agriculture, affordable nutrition, women in management) at 15% of short-term pay and 20% of long-term pay is one of the more concrete pay-for-sustainability structures in consumer goods, worth copying. Third, decarbonization at the FLAG Scope 3 level is the lever that matters most for any company with an agricultural footprint, and Nestlé’s progress proves it is technically achievable at scale when supplier engagement, traceability, and financial support are sequenced together rather than treated as separate programs.