Nestlé has reported its progress in helping end deforestation and restore its cocoa supply chain, mapping around 75 per cent of the 120,000 cocoa farms it sources from in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
In 2010, Nestlé said it would achieve “deforestation-free commodities by 2020”, but in its 2019 Cocoa & Forest Initiative report, said it would “adapt our action plan adapt our action plan and activities as we learn from the pilots we will carry out as well as from our discussions with farmers and their communities”.
Nestlé’s action plan now presents the company’s key activities from 2019-2022 to fulfil its commitment to end deforestation and forest degradation in the cocoa sectors in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The company has said that by October this year, all remaining farms will be mapped in the two countries.
In regard to forest tree distribution, Nestlé has an ambition to achieve 2.6 million in Côte d’Ivoire and 260,000 in Ghana, and has currently accomplished 15 per cent and 65 per cent of this goal, respectively.
Alexander von Maillot, senior vice president, head of confectionery strategic business unit at Nestlé S.A. said the company has made good progress across all the primary objectives set out under the Cocoa & Forests Initiative action plan.
“Sustainable cocoa requires thriving communities. Our actions take into account the need to balance forest protection and communities' livelihoods,” said von Maillot.
“As we forge ahead with our efforts to embed sustainability in the cocoa sector, we will continue to focus on providing farmers with viable alternatives to grow the same amount or even more cocoa on less land.”
Nestlé is deploying nature-based solutions, including reforestation, to absorb more carbon, improve soil health, and enhance biodiversity, as it aims to achieve its 2050 net-zero pledge, which outlines an aim to create zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
