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Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 187 countries around the world, and its 291,000 employees are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future.
Earthworm Foundation is helping Nestlé to identify the origin of its raw materials, engage its suppliers and to develop and implement strategies to reach the Nestlé Responsible Sourcing standard in its pulp & paper, palm oil and coconut supply chains.
Through 2019, Earthworm Foundation supports Nestlé in ongoing engagements with key suppliers to transform practices in four prioritised pulp & paper landscapes in key origin countries: north-west Russia; British Columbia, Canada; south-east US; Sumatra, Indonesia and northern Brazil.
Nestlé and Earthworm Foundation conduct the first supplier assessment for Responsible Sourcing of Coconut in Sri Lanka, followed by a second assessment in Indonesia in October. First supply chain mapping exercise for coconut materials conducted.
One of the seven Rurality projects Nestlé supports around the world has developed and submitted a participatory community land use plan that includes conservation of 3,830 hectares of forest in Indonesia
Nestlé commits to digital solutions by announcing 100% satellite monitoring for deforestation of palm oil supply chain via Starling Satellite monitoring, and piloting the system in an additional four key pulp and paper sourcing landscapes. Nestle as well uses a cloud-based tool developed with SupplyShift aimed at improving collection, analysis and access to pulp & paper supply chain data
Nestlé is one of first brands to publish lists of direct suppliers and mills for its palm oil and pulp & paper supply chains online. Nestle subsequently disclosed the supply chains for 14 categories of ingredients
Engagement begins with recovered fibre suppliers in India.
As of 2018, 91% of Nestlé’s palm oil volumes are traced back to mill, 54% to plantation and 91% of the known virgin fibre volumes (for pulp & paper products) are traced back to country of harvest
Nestlé’s first Rurality pulp & paper project is initiated in Vietnam
Palm oil is a highly versatile and inexpensive vegetable oil used in many consumer goods products. It is also an extremely efficient crop, producing as much as 10 times per hectare as other vegetable oils. But its role as a major driver of economic growth is also associated with the loss of tropical forest habitats.
Earthworm Foundation leads on establishing transparency in Nestlé’s palm oil supply chain and tracking suppliers’ progress on implementing Nestlé’s Responsible Sourcing Standard. We also partner with Nestlé in a large number of transformation and verification projects, such as developing forest production-protection models in Peru, investigating high-risk suppliers globally and using Starling satellite monitoring of deforestation. On human rights and community needs, our work with Nestlé provides access to safe drinking water in Papua New Guinea, to improved respect of labour rights for Indonesian plantation workers and ways to address the issue of children in plantations in Malaysia. The list goes on. See Nestle’s palm oil progress report for more.
Forests are under increasing pressure from human activity, resulting in forest loss and degradation. The forest product industry can contribute to these pressures but is also an essential part of the solution to keep forests thriving and restore forest values.
Since 2011, Nestlé and Earthworm Foundation have analysed and prioritised high priority pulp & paper sources for on-the-ground engagement to drive targeted transformation in line with Nestlé’s expectations. This work continues today and is supplemented by projects in key sourcing areas through Healthy Forest Landscape approaches on specific issues such as Intact Forest Landscapes and with Indigenous Communities as well as technologies such as Starling satellite imagery to monitor No Deforestation commitments and also exploring social issues in recovered fibre supply chains.
The coconut palm is often called the ‘tree of life’ because of its versatility and importance to rural livelihoods. But with global demand for coconut now outstripping supply, smallholder farmers can struggle with issues including ageing trees and poor production techniques.
Earthworm Foundation is joining Nestlé in the start of their work on Responsible Sourcing of coconut products. In 2019, we began to map Nestlé’s coconut supply chain and conduct baseline assessments in sourcing regions. Findings from this work will enable development of Nestlé’s 2025 roadmap to Responsible Sourcing for coconut. Stay tuned!
