Nestlé Philippines, one of the country’s largest food and beverage manufacturers, has called to take a leadership role in tackling climate change to achieve net zero emissions as a “Kasambuhay for the Environment” in its 110Th year. The commitment was announced during the company’s virtual 2021 Net Zero Fair.

Nestlé is leveraging its global size, scale, and reach to make a difference as it urgently pursues its ambition to halve its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and reach net zero not later than 2050.

The company’s “Kasambuhay for the Environment” project aims to support the Philippines’ Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement to reduce and avoid carbon emissions by 75 percent as of 2030.

In tackling the plastic waste crisis, Nestlé Philippines is also innovating and developing technology to make its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. At the same time, it is collaborating with public and private sector partners to ensure that none of its packaging ends up in the environment, and to educate consumers about solid waste management.

Nestlé Philippines Chairman and CEO Kais Marzouki along with its partners are committed to accelerate the journey to net zero including the collecting and diverting of an annual average of 26,000 metric tons of plastic waste away from landfills and oceans to reducing virgin plastics consumption by 1/3 by 2025; and reducing 30% of GHG emissions* by 2025 in local operations (factories, administrative office and logistics).

During the Fair, employees and their families formally pledged in a contract with the planet to actively involve themselves in creating a net zero environment by making sustainable choices, properly managing solid waste, and planting trees.

Senator Win Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, who gave his message of support said, “The contributions of the private sector will provide the needed boost in achieving carbon neutrality. Your efforts to transition to regenerative agricultural practices should be adopted as well by others in the manufacturing sector as it will benefit nature and improve the income of farmers.”

“By accelerating its actions to tackle climate change, Nestlé will help our country attain its goals in building climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience,” said Roy Cimatu, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary in another message of support.

Arlene Tan-Bantoto, Nestlé Philippines SVP and Head of Corporate Affairs and sustainability while acknowledging the importance of its public-private partnerships said, “We are addressing climate change through coordinated action, continuing innovation, and multisectoral engagement, with open accountability as we report our progress. We are the Good Food, Good Life company. We want to leave the legacy of a cleaner, healthier, and more livable planet for the next 110 years.”

Last year in August, the company achieved its most important environmental milestone thus far, by becoming the country’s first multinational FMCG company to attain plastic neutrality. This means Nestlé Philippines is collecting and co-processing, and therefore diverting from nature, the equivalent amount of plastic that it generates in its packaging. Since then, it has collected 18,000 MT of plastic waste in the last 7 months.

The company has also switched to clean energy, and now its factories in Luzon, as well as its Makati office run on 100% renewable electricity.

Through its Nescafé Plan and the Common Code for the Coffee Community or 4C, Nestlé Philippines is enabling Robusta coffee farmers in Mindanao to learn regenerative agriculture and sustainable coffee production. In particular, the company is helping 1,500 smallholder farmers to reduce their carbon footprint.

Marzouki expressed confidence that the company will fulfill these commitments with the support and participation of its employees and partners. “Tackling climate change cannot wait, and neither can we. And so let us all move forward for the sake of our children and future generations, rising to the challenges that lie ahead, together and united,” he marked.