Nestlé’s methane blindspot and plant-based confusion

The Changing Markets Foundation asserts that Nestlé's net zero roadmap is a "green mirage" that fails to meet any of the UN's Integrity Matters recommendations. The analysis highlights a significant "methane blindspot," noting that Nestlé does not separately report methane emissions, which are estimated to be twice those of Switzerland's entire livestock sector. The author criticizes Nestlé's reliance on regenerative agriculture over proven solutions and its strategy to grow plant-based portfolios alongside dairy rather than using them as substitutes to reduce overall emissions. Furthermore, the document claims that Nestlé's actual emissions have reduced by only 1% over five years, contradicting the company's reported 6.4% reduction achieved through "creative accounting."

• Nestlé fails to fully meet any of the nine relevant recommendations from the UN High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero's 'Integrity Matters' report, partially meeting five and completely failing four.
• Nestlé's reported emissions reduction of 6.4% is characterized as the result of "creative accounting" using a 'business as usual' scenario; the author's analysis indicates actual emissions have only decreased by 1% over five years.
• Nestlé does not separately report or set targets for methane emissions, despite these emissions being twice the size of the entire livestock sector of Switzerland.
• The company's climate strategy relies on regenerative agriculture for dairy emissions reduction, which the author describes as unreliable for permanent greenhouse gas cuts, and ignores the potential for plant-based alternatives to replace high-emissions dairy.
• Nestlé intends to grow its plant-based portfolio as an addition to, rather than a substitute for, its dairy portfolio, meaning plant-based options are not used to curtail the growth of high-emissions dairy.

APA

Haughton-Boakes, M. (2023). Nestlé’s methane blindspot and plant-based confusion. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/nestles-methane-blindspot-and-plant-based-confusion/

Chicago

Haughton-Boakes, Maddy. Nestlé’s methane blindspot and plant-based confusion. Changing Markets Foundation, 2023. https://changingmarkets.org/nestles-methane-blindspot-and-plant-based-confusion/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Haughton-Boakes |first1=Maddy |title=Nestlé’s methane blindspot and plant-based confusion |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=10 May 2023 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/nestles-methane-blindspot-and-plant-based-confusion/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{haughtonboakes2023nestls, author = {Haughton-Boakes, Maddy}, title = {{Nestlé’s methane blindspot and plant-based confusion}}, publisher = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/nestles-methane-blindspot-and-plant-based-confusion/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }