Nestlé has insisted it remains “steadfast” in its mission to reach net zero, despite withdrawing from a global alliance for cutting methane emissions in dairy farming.
When the Dairy Methane Action Alliance was launched at the end of 2023 by the Environmental Defense Fund, it quickly signed up a swathe of big-name members, including Nestlé, Danone, Kraft Heinz and Starbucks.
By joining the initiative, the companies committed to publicly measure and disclose methane emissions from their dairy supply chains and publish plans to reduce those emissions over time.
However, as reported by Bloomberg, Nestlé’s logo disappeared from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance website last month. The Swiss multinational later confirmed it had withdrawn from the alliance.
“Nestlé regularly reviews its memberships of external organisations,” said a Nestlé spokeswoman.
“As part of this process, we have decided to discontinue our membership of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance.
“We appreciate the alliance’s ongoing work on methane emissions reductions in the dairy industry.
“Nestlé remains steadfast in delivering against the objectives in our Dairy Climate Plan and Net Zero Roadmap,” said the spokeswoman.
“These strategies continue to guide our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, throughout our supply chain.
“We’ve made significant progress to date – reducing emissions by 21% in absolute terms by the end of 2024.”
Nestlé’s climate goals
Nestlé’s Dairy Climate plan sets out its objective to work with more than 200 suppliers across 27 countries to reduce the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions at farm level: feed production, enteric methane and manure.
Its Net Zero Roadmap, published in 2020, details its ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the end of the decade and achieve net zero by 2050.
According to Nestlé’s most recent non-financial statement, it slashed methane emissions by 20.6% to 13.1 million tonnes between 2018 and 2024.
However, the statement does not provide disaggregated figures for methane emissions specifically linked to dairy farming, which the Dairy Methane Action Alliance requires.
It comes after Nestlé partnered with First Milk on its immersive Farm Drop experience in March, which saw it transform a site in central London into a space for consumers to learn about regenerative farming.
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