Four years ahead of schedule as the company drives its Net Zero Roadmap
Nestlé New Zealand has announced the company is now sourcing 100% renewable electricity, four years ahead of its global target of 2025.
The announcement brings the company one step closer to reducing its net emissions by 50% by 2030, and achieving net zero by 2050.
Nestlé New Zealand CEO, Jennifer Chappell said the company has been able to accelerate this milestone due to New Zealand’s favourable renewable electricity environment1.
“This is a significant demonstration of how we can act locally on global commitments to deliver impact that is relevant for New Zealanders,” said Ms Chappell.
“We’re proud to now source 100% renewable electricity for all of our sites - our Maggi factory in Wiri, our TUX factory in Marton, our Auckland head office and our five Nespresso boutiques across the country.”
Nestlé is making the switch by purchasing renewable electricity certificates to cover all of the electricity used across its sites each year – the equivalent of 8332 households.
The move to source 100% certified renewable electricity is in addition to a number of ambitious sustainability targets across the board as part of its plan to achieve net zero.
Ms Chappell added, “We are exploring every aspect of our business to identify where we can reach net zero and we’ve developed a detailed, time-bound action plan to achieve this – Nestle’s Net Zero Roadmap.”
As well as the move to 100% renewable electricity, progress in New Zealand against the plan includes:
- Transforming the product portfolio: introducing plant based foods and drinks including Milo Plant Based Energy and the new vegan KitKat V.
- Carbon neutral brands: committing to achieving carbon neutrality for Nespresso by end of 2022 and KitKat by end of 2025.
- Sourcing ingredients sustainably: partnering with Fonterra and DairyNZ to expand a plantain trial to help improve waterways and reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions.
- Transforming packaging: driving a commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and reducing our use of virgin plastics. This includes Smarties becoming the first global confectionery brand to use paper across its range; introducing recyclable packaging for all Maggi recipe bases; and reducing the amount of plastic used in Maggi food service packaging.
Ms Chappell said, “In the coming year, we are planning to start transitioning our fleet to hybrid vehicles to reduce emissions, extend the work we are doing to improve cocoa sustainability and further reduce the amount of virgin plastic we are using.
“Beyond our roadmap, we are also investing in local sustainability initiatives that are important to Kiwis. To help motivate a new generation of young Kiwis into conservation action, in partnership with Sea Cleaners, we developed the Nestlé for Healthier Kids Sea Cleaners programme.”
Now in its third year, this programme offers a variety of resources to help schools tackle the rubbish problem plaguing our precious waterways and help them to understand the impact of not putting litter where it belongs.
1. 84% of electricity generated is renewable: https://www.nzte.govt.nz/page/renewable-energy
2 Electricity in New Zealand, Electricity Authority, P8: An average house uses about 7,000 kWh of electricity per year: https://www.ea.govt.nz/assets/dms-assets/20/20410Electricity-in-NZ-2018.pdf