Nestlé has joined food industry business leaders to support the European Union (EU) in increasing supply chain traceability and transparency, for commodities that could be linked to deforestation.
Nestlé and other signatories including Sainsbury’s and Tesco have called on the EU to scale up the use of innovative technologies in improving supply chain traceability. They also aim to encourage the EU to strengthen cooperation with producing countries to ensure the protection and restoration of forests.
Nestlé’s experience in eliminating deforestation in key supply chains has shown that a multi-layered approach is more beneficial. From December 2020 onwards, more than 90 per cent of the key commodities Nestlé purchased were assessed as deforestation-free via tools such as supply chain mapping and disclosure, satellite monitoring and on-the-ground verification.
They stress the importance of better understanding where commodities originate from, to identify and address deforestation where it occurs and maintain accountability.
Additionally, further collective action between companies, governments and civil society is necessary. This can be better incentivised with the introduction of a clear set of rules to push companies to take impactful action to protect human rights and the environment.
More intense dialogue between major consumer and producing countries, as well as steering flows of finance and investment towards sustainable activities and supply chains, will also be essential to ensure a fair international trade system.
This encouragement builds on a joint position paper co-signed by Nestlé and more than 50 other companies and non-profits in December 2020, calling on the EU to tackle the varying factors driving deforestation and impacting the livelihoods of farmers and their communities.
Nestlé will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and share its experience in supply chain transparency, traceability and implementing its forest positive strategy. They will help shape EU measures to protect and restore forests and promote sustainable food production.