Nestlé has extended its support to a European initiative aimed at making food supply chains more sustainable.
The move will see the food giant join the European Commission’s EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practices.
More than 50 other companies and industry bodies have already joined the movement, which sets out actions that food producers, food service, retailers, and others can take to make healthy and sustainable food choices more accessible.
The EU Code of Conduct is a key deliverable of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.
Nestlé is contributing to the initiative through a set of 23 commitments to reduce the environmental footprint of products while offering more healthy and nutritious diets.
The company will add more nutritious products to its portfolio and roll out the Nutri-Score labelling system across Europe, where stakeholders are supportive.
Environmental Goals
On the environmental side, actions include support for regenerative agriculture as well as a shift to 100% renewable energy and zero-emission logistics.
Nestlé will achieve these goals by working closely with farmers and other companies to create a positive impact on communities and the environment.
The company added that it would continue to share its know-how and provide resources at the local level to support the transition to more sustainable food systems in Europe and beyond.
REWE Group Joins EU Code of Conduct
Elsewhere, Germany’s REWE Group has joined the initiative and pledged to achieve climate neutrality at the company level by 2040.
The group aims to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019 across all countries where the retail and tourism group operates in Europe.
The company added that it achieved its goal of halving its greenhouse gas emissions per square metre of sales area by 2022 ahead of schedule.
In 2020, the company reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 53.6% compared to 2006 in Germany and Austria by switching to certified green electricity from renewable resources for all stories, administrative locations, warehouses, and travel agencies.
Metro AG Supports Sustainable Food Economy
Metro AG is also one of the signatories of the Code of Conduct, which unites European stakeholders along the supply chain on a common path to a sustainable food economy.
The company will focus on better and healthier nutrition, careful use of food resources, and closed loops for packaging.
The wholesaler has pledged to make its global business operations climate-neutral by 2040 and invest around €1.5 billion, mainly on renewable energy, eco-friendly refrigeration and heating infrastructure.
It has also decided to report progress on CO2 emissions, food waste reduction, sustainability within its own-brand assortment.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
