12/10/21, 8:50 PM Assessing the world’s 350 most influential food and agriculture companies

Nestlé
Nestlé is a multinational food and drink processing company with a product portfolio including baby foods, bottled
water, cereals, chocolate and confectionary, coffee and dairy products, among others. It is one of the biggest food
processors in the world, offering more than 2,000 brands ranging from globally recognisable to local quantities and
with a sales presence in 187 countries. Nespresso is Nestlé's major subsidiary in the coffee segment, while its cereal
segment is led by Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture with General Mills.

Summary
Nestlé ranks second in the Food and Agriculture Benchmark, a reflection of its strong performance across all
measurement areas. The company leads the benchmark in the nutrition measurement area, due to its extensive
commitment to workforce nutrition, food safety and activities to address the availability and accessibility of healthy
foods. Related to environment, Nestlé has set 2050 net zero targets for its scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions and
demonstrates it is reducing food loss and waste but has room for improvement on other topics such as protein
diversification. Nestlé also demonstrates good performance in the social inclusion measurement area, ranking second
thanks to its commitments to protect land rights and activities to improve the health and safety of vulnerable groups
in its supply chain. Nestlé has room for improvement in the governance and strategy measurement area. While the
company has targets covering all measurement areas, not all of these are long-term. Moreover, Nestlé can improve
disclosure on its processes to identify stakeholders with whom to engage.

RANKING POSITION TOTAL SCORE

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#2 /350
68.5/100

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Measurement area Governance and strategy

#1
Score 7.5
/10

Rank (0-350): #15

Measurement area Environment

#1
Score 20.0
/30

Rank (0-350): #5

Measurement area Nutrition

#1
Score 18.8
/30

Rank (0-350): #1

Measurement area Social inclusion

#1
Score 22.2
/30

Rank (0-350): #2

#1 Indicates the score for the top performing company.

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Segment Food and beverage manufacturers/processors

Rank #2

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Segment ranking summary

Nestlé is active in the food and beverage manufacturers/processors segment and ranks second out of 233 companies
in this segment. It performs particularly well in the nutrition and social inclusion measurement areas, ranking first and
second in its segment respectively, but can further improve in the governance and strategy measurement area, where
it is outperformed by several of its peers.

Leading practices
Governance and strategy
No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

Environment
Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions

In its 2021 Net Zero Roadmap, Nestlé sets targets to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net
zero by 2050. These targets are in line with a 1.5-degree trajectory, and the company reports on emissions annually.

Food loss and waste

As a member of the World Resource Institute’s Champions 12.3, Nestlé set 2020 targets to reduce food loss and
waste and has achieved these. The company measures its food waste and demonstrates year-on-year reductions. In
addition, Nestlé works with farmers to prevent food loss and preserve excess food. New targets have not yet been
disclosed.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity

In its 2021 Net Zero Roadmap, Nestlé sets targets to increase sourcing through regenerative agricultural methods for
its key ingredients to 20% in 2025 and 50% in 2030, demonstrating a commitment to improved soil health and
agrobiodiversity. However, no reporting on the percentage of key ingredients sourced through regenerative
agricultural methods was found in the public domain.

Plastic use and packaging waste

Nestlé has set a target to achieve 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025 and provides quantitative

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reporting demonstrating progress against this target. Through collaborations with value chain partners, the company
also addresses packaging waste management and marine littering in different markets.

Nutrition
Workforce nutrition

Through offering healthy meal options in 96% of the company’s canteens, Nestlé seeks to positively contribute to the
nutrition of its workforce. Moreover, the company offers breastfeeding support through its parental support policy
and has a programme that covers nutritional education for its employees.

Food safety

Nestlé demonstrates that it provides safe food to consumers by complying with relevant regulations and
implementing hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) systems. In addition, 100% of the company’s
operations and 85% of suppliers have achieved certification to a food safety scheme recognised by the Global Food
Safety Initiative. The company can further improve by striving for 100% of its supply chain to attain certification.

Clear and transparent labelling

Nestlé commits to providing transparent nutritional information and supports and implements voluntary front-of-
pack labelling. The company discloses that 98.3% of its sales come from products with the Nestlé Nutritional
Compass Labelling. While this labelling carries nutritional information, it is not necessarily displayed on the front of
packaging, which is the most easily visible place for consumers.

Social inclusion
Health and safety of vulnerable groups

Nestlé recognises that women workers often face higher occupational health risks in its supply chain and has
gathered data to better understand these risks. In this regard, it requires suppliers to recognise the unique position
and needs of women and to tailor interventions based on their needs. Moreover, the company provides examples of
projects with suppliers to address the health and safety of vulnerable workers in its supply chain. While the company
demonstrates leading practice compared to its peers on this topic, there is an opportunity for Nestlé to increase
disclosure on how it assesses and integrates occupational health risks to other vulnerable groups such as migrant,
temporary, and young workers.

Child labour

Nestlé forbids the use of child labour in its operations and supply chain and requires suppliers of high-risk
commodities to maintain documentation to verify the age of workers. Through third-party audits for suppliers as well
as internal audits, the company monitors for the presence of child labour throughout its value chain. Nestlé also

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demonstrates it works with its suppliers to eliminate child labour, for example by offering education and assistance
with farm work. While Nestlé provides quantitative reporting on its efforts to eliminate child labour, it is still
expanding the scope of this reporting and the data does not yet demonstrate progress.

Risks and opportunities

Governance and strategy
Governance and accountability for sustainable development

Nestlé’s governance system includes board-level responsibility and accountability for its sustainable development
targets. To facilitate effective implementation of the sustainability strategy, remuneration for executives is linked to
the company´s sustainability performance. However, the company could further strengthen its performance by
demonstrating that this executive remuneration is linked to topics across all three benchmark dimensions of
environment, nutrition and social inclusion.

Sustainable development strategy

Nestlé’s sustainability strategy includes 2030 objectives relating to the environment, nutrition and social inclusion.
The company set specific, measurable targets for 2020 under each objective and reports on progress annually.
However, it can further improve by disclosing long-term targets, aiming for 2030 and beyond, for each of its
objectives as part of its sustainability strategy.

Stakeholder engagement

Nestlé demonstrates that it engages with a diverse group of stakeholders through several activities and discloses a
list of key stakeholder groups and issues raised with them. Results from stakeholder activities are integrated into
Nestlé’s sustainability strategy. While the company provides a definition of stakeholders, it has an opportunity to
provide further information on how it identifies which stakeholders to engage with.

Environment
Antibiotic use and growth-promoting substances

Nestlé’s Commitment on Farm Animal Welfare includes a commitment to use antibiotics responsibly and phase out
growth promotors. However, the company does not disclose the mechanisms involved to implement this policy, such
as external auditing practices or verification processes.

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Protein diversification

While Nestlé provides some evidence of diversifying its protein portfolio, such as through developing plant-based
alternatives for milk and tuna, it does not disclose any time-bound targets to increase the production or consumption
of alternative proteins such as plant-based protein, dairy alternatives or cell-based meat.

Nutrition
Availability of healthy foods

Nestlé demonstrates that it is improving the nutritional quality of its foods by reducing salt, sugar and fat and
increasing beneficial properties such as fibre and calcium. Moreover, the company discloses the nutritional profiling
system that supports its product (re)formulation activities. While Nestlé reports on the proportion of products that
meet its nutritional profiling criteria, it has an opportunity to set a target to increase the share of products that meet
these criteria.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods

Nestlé provides evidence of activities to increase the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods, with a focus on
fortified foods. While the company has set targets to expand its fortified portfolio and reach more people with
fortified foods, it does not disclose a target to improve the affordability and accessibility of healthy foods for
vulnerable populations.

Responsible marketing

Nestlé has a responsible marketing policy that addresses marketing to children, specifying that all products marketed
to children between 6 and 12 must meet the company’s nutritional guidelines. Nestlé demonstrates that it has
increased expenditure on promoting products that support healthy lifestyles but does not disclose which share of its
total marketing budget is spent on promoting healthy foods. While the company discloses evidence of marketing
activities to promote healthy eating habits, it has an opportunity to share evidence of marketing activities to
promote healthy foods.

Social inclusion
Land rights

Nestlé requires its suppliers to recognise and respect the legitimate tenure rights related to the ownership and use of
land of local communities and provides a grievance mechanism that is available to external individuals and
communities. However, the company does not publicly provide information on its remediation process for land right
issues in its supply chain.

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Forced labour

In both its own operations and supply chain, Nestlé forbids the use of forced labour and prohibits the retention of
workers’ documents and restriction of workers’ freedom of movement. In addition, the company states that workers
have the right to join or form trade unions and bargain collectively without discrimination or intimidation and
requires its suppliers to abide by the same standards. Nestlé has an opportunity to increase disclosure on how it
monitors for the presence of forced labour in its operations and supply chain.

Living wage

Through its three-year Living Wage project, Nestlé completed a global exercise to validate that all employees in its
operations are paid a living wage. While the company expects its suppliers to pay their workers a living wage and
supports this practice in its supply chain through pilot projects, this does not equate to a requirement for suppliers to
pay workers a living wage. Further, the company does not disclose a target to pay a living wage across its supply
chain.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience

Nestlé is committed to supporting the economic resilience of farmers and provides examples of support activities,
such as the training of farmers and promotion of diversification in its Nescafé Plan. While the company reports on the
impact of some of these activities, it can improve by demonstrating it is measuring the impact of all its activities and
reporting these externally.

Core social indicators

The core social indicators are part of the social inclusion measurement area. These indicators assess societal
expectations of business conduct that companies should meet if they aspire to be part of a system transformation
that leaves no one behind.

Respect human rights

Nestlé demonstrates taking responsibility in respecting human rights. The company has a commitment to respecting
human rights and ILO core labour rights in its operation, and expects suppliers to respect ILO core labour rights.
Moreover, Nestlé discloses a human rights due diligence process that includes the identification, assessment, and
integration of salient human rights risks in its operations and supply chain. As part of this process, the company
provides grievance mechanisms that are accessible for employees and external stakeholders such as communities
and demonstrates how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

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Provide and promote decent work

Nestlé discloses on the coverage of collective bargaining agreements in its own operations as well as how it works to
support freedom of association and collective bargaining in its supply chain. The company commits to protecting the
health and safety of its workers and places health and safety expectations on its supply chain partners but can
strengthen its monitoring and quantitative reporting on this topic. Nestlé has also set a target to pay a living wage in
its operations and supports the payment of a living wage in its supply chain but does not disclose information on
how it determines living wages. Nestlé can further improve its commitments related to working hours and increase
disclosure on diversity in its workforce and gender pay gaps.

Act ethically
Nestlé commits to protecting personal data and has a privacy statement on its use. The company has publicly
available policies setting out its global approach to tax, lobbying and political engagement, and prohibiting bribery
and corruption. However, the company lacks disclosure on lobbying and tax expenses, as well as on how it prohibits
corruption and bribery in its relations with third parties.

More about the company

Headquarters Food and agriculture revenue USD
Vevey,
Switzerland 98,476,595,800

Group revenue USD Onwnership structure

98,476,595,800 Publicly listed

Number of employees Website

291,000 https://www.nestle.com

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This company is part of the SDG2000, the

2.000 most influential companies

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