Nestlé's Focus on Regenerative Agriculture & Circularity

Antonia Wanner, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé, has secured ninth place in Sustainability Magazine's Top 250 Sustainability Leaders 2026.

The recognition highlights her contributions to advancing circularity through reusable and recyclable packaging solutions, alongside her leadership in regenerative agriculture programmes.

With two decades of experience in the consumer goods sector, Antonia has navigated leadership roles across procurement, sales and sustainability.

Her journey at Nestlé began as European Group Manager for Packaging, where she spent eight years in procurement before transitioning to Head of Sales Services for Nestlé Germany in 2010.

Between 2017 and 2020, she served as Chief Procurement Officer and Managing Director for Nestrade Procurement Division.

Her shift into sustainability came in 2020 when she assumed the role of Group Head of ESG, Sustainability Strategy and Deployment.

In this capacity, she brought together technical and sustainability professionals to drive production innovations and sustainable sourcing initiatives.

Antonia stepped into her current position as Chief Sustainability Officer in January 2025.

Packaging innovation and circular economy

Nestlé's sustainability strategy is guided by its Net Zero Roadmap, which sets a target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

This ambition depends on sustainable practices across operations and throughout the value chain, with packaging representing a key focus area.

The company is actively reducing virgin plastic use while piloting reuse and refill systems for its products.

Nestlé is also increasing recycled content in plastic packaging to support circular economy principles and minimise natural resource consumption.

Recyclable paper packaging has been introduced across products including Nescafé, Kitkat, Nesquik and Smarties.

In 2025, more than 40% of Nestlé's packaging included recycled content.

Pablo Isla, Chair, and Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestlé, say: "Our efforts extend beyond our walls, creating positive impacts across the value chain as we use resources more efficiently, help our suppliers and partners to manage risks and develop new opportunities with innovation and collaboration.

"We create value for communities as well as shareholders, and in doing so strengthen our brands – aligning long-term business success with meaningful impact for people, communities and the planet.

"This is what we mean by shared value: delivering sustainable, inclusive and profitable growth that enhances the wellbeing of all stakeholders."

All sustainability, net zero and sustainable supply chain leaders should attend:

• Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE, these events brings together CSOs, ESG leaders and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.

Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Regenerative agriculture progress

A significant portion of Antonia's work centres on food sustainability, particularly regenerative agriculture.

In 2025, 27% of the company's key ingredient volumes came from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices, with Nestlé targeting 50% of ingredient volumes from regenerative sources.

Given that dairy and livestock represent the largest single source of Nestlé's emissions, the company is strengthening programmes with farmers to improve environmental impact.

Investment is being directed towards developing sustainable feed sourced from regenerative practices, which could help avoid deforestation and reduce carbon emissions.

Nestlé also aims to support improved agricultural practices including crop rotation, cover cropping and organic fertilisers to restore soil carbon.

Antonia says on LinkedIn: "Farmers need steady, resilient incomes and good working conditions. When income, training and sustainable practices align, communities thrive. And landscapes do too.

"Ultimately, consumers and farmers everywhere want similar things like a clean environment, healthy families and a better future.

"At Nestlé, our role is to support these hopes with practical solutions through our products and through the way they are produced."