Cargill & Nestlé Champion Sustainability in Chocolate

Swiss food manufacturing giant Nestlé is chasing some big goals to stop climate change, such as reducing its green house gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and working to become a fully net zero business by 2050.
Among Nestlé’s top global food ingredient suppliers is Cargill, which has been working with Nestlé to discover the best methods of procuring and growing food ingredients.
This is vital for protecting natural resources, conserving water, improving cocoa farmers' livelihoods and lowering greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain.
Nestlé's ambition is to create strong regenerative food systems, a dream that is supported by Cargill.
Cargill & sustainable food supply chains
Cargill has created its own sustainability initiatives to build the world’s most sustainable food supply chains, so that customers can enjoy food and farmers can enjoy their work. Like others in the food sector, Cargill prioritises addressing climate change, safeguarding water and forests, as well as protecting farmers while meeting global food demand.
Cargill's approach is based on collaboration with farmers, customers and farming communities. The company has also laid out ambitious goals, led by science, to uplift our planet and healthy people. It says that transparency is a core principle, with its progress shared every year in an ESG report. As Cargill’s work also calls for strong accountability, there are governance orders in place to monitor sustainability progress - and report back honestly when things are not working out.
The company enhances the resilience of agricultural jobs
Through market access, the best tools and ongoing training, Cargill is working with Nestlé to provide certified cocoa, as a part of Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program.
“Reaching those goals requires innovative approaches with our partners, above all with strategic suppliers such as Cargill,” says Patricia Stroup, Chief Procurement Officer of Nestlé.
"At Nestlé, we are constantly searching for new solutions to help advance regenerative food systems at scale, which includes enhancing livelihoods across our value chain at the same time,” says Antonia Wanner, group head of ESG Strategy and Deployment at Nestlé. “Our progress on emissions reductions is proof of our unwavering commitment to our net zero roadmap.”
Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program
Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program and its Breaks for Good KitKat, have a goal to improve the livelihoods of cocoa-farming families and implement agriculture practices which can advance crop productivity. The cocoa ingredients for this bar meet strict traceability standards and are sourced from farming families that are involved in Nestlé’s Income Accelerator Program.
The program has several targets:
- Rewarding positive practices in school enrolment, agroforestry activities and diversified incomes.
- To reduce child labour risks across cocoa farming communities.
- To encourage gender equality
So far, the program has reached 30,000 cocoa-farming families in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The goal is to assist 160,000 cocoa-farming families, by 2030.
Cargill has worked with Rainforest Alliance to provide certified cocoa for Nestlé. The manufacturer uses data tools like CocoaWise™ to monitor cocoa, increasing supply chain transparency and traceability.
“As a partner on Nestlé’s sustainability journey, we are implementing solutions to source ingredients for Nestlé in ways that help restore the environment, support families and increase incomes,” said Michiel van der Bom, Product Line Director for Cargill’s Europe and West Africa cocoa and chocolate business. “Through our partnership, we are building a stronger, more resilient supply chain together.”
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