Nestlé Australia has switched to 100% renewable electricity, four years ahead of its global target of 2025.
Brands including KitKat, Milo, Allen’s, Nescafé, Uncle Tobys and Purina will now be made at factories where 100% of the electricity is sourced from wind power.
Nestlé has partnered with CWP Renewables to make its first renewable power purchase agreement.
The 10-year agreement covers Nestlé’s six Australian factories, two distribution centres, three corporate offices, 20 retail boutiques, and laboratory.
CWP Renewables’ Crudine Ridge and Sapphire wind farms in NSW will generate enough electricity to cover the electricity used across Nestle’s sites each year. This is said to be the equivalent of powering approximately 19,000i households per year.
According to Nestlé, the switch to 100% renewable electricity in Australia will mean the company will avoid around 73,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
“Achieving our sustainability commitments as we progress towards 2050 can’t wait – and neither can we,” says Nestlé Oceania CEO Sandra Martinez.
“I am proud that we’ve been able to accelerate switching to 100% renewable electricity for our sites, but there’s still more to be done. This is one more step on our roadmap.
“This means that when Aussies are enjoying Nestlé products made in our Australian factories, they can do so knowing that it is made by electricity that has been renewably sourced.
“This builds on the work we are already doing to rethink our packaging, build sustainable supply chains, drive carbon neutral brands and transform our product portfolio with more plant-based foods and drinks.”
Other initiatives
Nestlé’s move to source 100% certified renewable electricity is just one of a number of sustainability targets in the company’s Net Zero Roadmap.
Other initiatives underway include:
- Transforming product portfolio – introducing plant-based foods and drinks, including Milo Plant-Based Energy, Uncle Tobys Oat Milk range and the vegan KitKat V.
- Driving carbon neutral brands – committing to achieving carbon neutrality for Nespresso by the end of 2022, and KitKat by end of 2025.
- Transforming packaging – driving a commitment to make 100% of packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and reducing the use of virgin plastics. This includes Smarties becoming the first global confectionery brand to use paper across its range, introducing recyclable packaging for all Maggi recipe bases, and reducing the amount of plastic used in Purina Petcare accessories by removing 16.7 tonnes of non-recyclable or unnecessary plastic each year.