Nestlé launches two projects to reduce emissions in cocoa farming

Recommendation: Begin the program now by mapping emissions across cocoa farms, enrolling the first 3,000 farmers within six months, and defining a net-zero goal with clear milestones.

Project A tackles data collection and corresponding actions by building a transparent emissions accounting platform across crops, including cocoa. Project B scales regenerative practices that improve land-use and soil health, using shade trees and cover crops to cut emissions, aiming for zero emissions in the cocoa segment.

Bu program engages communities and farmers directly, supporting a local community approach with hands-on training, access to inputs and microfinance, and a blueprint for improving health outcomes in farming communities while boosting resilience and incomes.

In the initial phase, the two projects reached 4,200 çiftçiler across 62 communities, covering about 15,000 hectares of cocoa, with average yield gains of 8–12% and fertilizer-use reductions of 18–22%, translating to roughly 12,000 tons of CO2e avoided per year and progress toward deeper decarbonization.

Within the program, the approach offers opportunities for farmers and communities to adopt agroforestry, optimize land-use decisions, and align cocoa practices with diversified crops and improved soil health, creating replicable models for smallholders.

For consumers of smarties and other Nestlé brands, the reporting links packaging labels to farm-level data on health, emissions and soil outcomes, building trust and motivating continued improvements. Nestlé will publish quarterly progress, share learnings with partners, and plan to scale the two projects to additional crops within two years, maintaining a clear goal toward a practical net-zero trajectory while safeguarding cocoa quality and community well-being.

Nestlé initiatives in cocoa and coffee supply chains

Launching a unified monitoring platform where nestlés tracks emissions, deforestation status, and farming practices within cocoa and coffee supply chains, with community-level data on crops reported annually, ensures transparent action and clear progress.

The cocoa program launches two projects that advance agroforestry and soil health, with details in the article and sharing where farmer groups monitor field improvements within each farm. They seek carbon removals that become permanent and are realized across thousands of participating farmers; training starts at the plant level, then extends to the broader community as harvests follow.

In coffee, Nestlé expands climate-smart sourcing across processing and farm inputs, strengthening traceability to the plant and improving energy efficiency with renewables. The program helps participating farmers with plant-level training and access to inputs, while the companys partners share best practices that accelerate sustainable farming and protect the largest harvests. Status updates and annually disclosed data show emissions reductions, removals progress, and deforestation-free crops, which they seek to expand where they operate.

Nestlé launches two projects to decarbonize the cocoa supply chain

Adopt regenerative farming and low-emission processing now to decarbonize the cocoa supply chain.

Nestlé’s two-project initiative accelerates progress by pairing hands-on farm support with system-wide efficiency upgrades. An empowered manager network leads farmers through pruning, soil restoration, composting, shade management, and crop diversification across multiple seasons.

Suppliers participate through regular training, digital tools, and spaces for knowledge exchange, with a plan that aligns incentives and clear milestones.

Smarties and Remi stand out as practical tools: Smarties handles field data analytics to track effects of farming practices, while Remi models fuels options and emissions outcomes under different weather patterns.

Beyond farming, the second project upgrades drying, fermentation, milling, and transport with efficient equipment and low-emission fuels; this reduces energy intensity and removes heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

Results will be measured through regular reporting, supplier dashboards, and third-party verification, enabling rapid course corrections and scalable rollout year by year. Improved pruning and soil health improve bean quality, contributing to cream-like texture in end products.

Targeted emissions reductions for cocoa farming: scope, metrics, and timelines

Set a 2030 goal to reduce emissions per ton of cocoa across the first wave of farms by 25%, with quarterly progress checks and third-party verification. Start with a baseline year of 2024 and publish the results in an annual report.

Scope covers on-farm activities such as fertilizer optimization, soil moisture management, shade practices, irrigation, and the use of diesel-powered equipment, plus post-harvest processing and trucking in the buying chain. The umbrella program engages farms supplying Nescafé and its partner mills, with community groups involved to ensure social benefits accompany climate gains. Regular field audits, farmer trainings, and data collection feed the process, while satellite data validate canopy cover and moisture indicators. The approach relies on processed data to yield practical insights for farmers and partner teams.

Metrics track three dimensions: emission intensity (kg CO2e per kg cocoa), absolute farm emissions (t CO2e/year), and reductions from specific practices. Baselines are set in 2024; targets hinge on shade-tree adoption, fertilizer-use efficiency, energy optimization (including solar pumps), and improved waste handling in processing. Use regular readings from activity data (fertilizer, fuel, electricity), satellite-derived proxies, and input-output records from buying. Report progress annually and share the methodology with partner organizations to build trust.

Timeline follows a phased roll-out: 2025 pilot on 50 farms; 2026 expansion to 300 more; 2027 data-sharing platform launch with partner mills; 2028 scale-up to several thousands of farms; 2030 full target achieved. Each year defines milestones: training completion rates, fertilizer-use improvements, diesel-to-electric or solar substitutions, and biodiversity benefits from agroforestry practices. The process includes independent verification and annual reading of results to refine recommendations.

Benefits include reduced input costs, more stable yields, better resilience to climate shocks, and enhanced biodiversity within and around farms. Recommended actions: set up data governance and transparent reporting; align with buying strategies and create incentives for farmers to adopt best practices; provide technical support through partner networks; and address several topics in farmer trainings, from soil health to water management and community well-being. Nescafé and its partner organizations should publish regular updates, share success stories from communities, and provide resources that help farms cover transition costs while maintaining processed cocoa quality.

Collaboration with local communities: governance, ownership, and on-the-ground impact

Establish locally governed councils that include farmer leaders, cooperative representatives, and community members to approve budgets, set priorities, and oversee on-farm practices. Nestlé commits long-term funding and practical support, ensuring ownership stays with local groups and decisions reflect community realities. These bodies coordinate environment-related work and monitor progress, which strengthens trust and accountability. They will be tasked with translating plans into concrete actions they can drive on the ground. This approach ever deepens trust between farmers and buyers.

Launching two emissions-reduction projects, the initiative aims to reach about 3,000 farmers across 60 communities in the first year, delivering hands-on training and improved farming methods.

Plans emphasize on-farm actions suited to local conditions: shade trees and agroforestry, improved composting, efficient fermentation, and cleaner energy use at processing sites.

Monitoring relies on simple, local data collection: quarterly field checks, farmer surveys, and environmental indicators such as soil carbon and fuel use.

Distribute benefits through transparent funding mechanisms, yielding community-level savings that can support next-season planting, equipment upgrades, and access to better inputs.

Within this approach, ownership grows as communities co-create training materials and local extension services; proud farmers become mentors and ambassadors within their networks.

With a major focus on cover and reliability, the model links farm-level actions to Nestlé’s sourcing network, accelerating reductions in emissions across the world cocoa supply chain.

Processed beans produced by collaborating farms could already meet higher sustainability standards, improving shelf integrity and the environment.

The collaboration reinforces Nestlé’s committed role in sustainable sourcing and community empowerment, creating a scalable blueprint that other players can replicate as they launch similar plans across regions.

Funding, partnerships, and implementation milestones for the two projects

Secure multi-year funding commitments and align partners to a shared milestones framework from the outset to ensure measurable impact across cocoa farming.

The two projects, including milo and a second initiative, will work with Nestlé’s teams in Brazil to oversee which crops are targeted and how the footprint can be reduced through sustainable practices that benefit farming communities.

• Funding strategy
  1. Establish three-year pilots funded by Nestlé with co-funding from development partners and grants tied to verifiable milestones, monitored by an independent auditor during each annual cycle.
  2. Disburse funds in quarterly intervals tied to progress on plantation improvements, farmer training, and monitoring outcomes to improve transparency and accountability.
  3. Allocate dedicated funds for capacity building, equipment for monitoring, and incentives for farmers who adopt climate-smart practices beyond baseline norms.
  4. Define a scalable budget envelope that grows with verified impact, ensuring the largest gains are achieved where the footprint is highest and communities are most engaged.
• Partnerships and collaboration
  1. Collaborate with Brazil’s farmer associations, local NGOs, universities, and the largest cooperatives to align workstreams and share data across farms, fields, and processing stages.
  2. Set up a steering group overseen by Nestlé and representatives from communities, with oversight from independent experts to maintain trust and consistency.
  3. Formalize roles for field teams to work directly with farmers, monitor progress, and adapt practices based on on-the-ground learnings, which helps ensure practical adoption at farm level.
  4. Embed a co-creation process that invites farmers to contribute ideas, test new inputs, and measure improvements in yields, quality, and emissions reductions, thereby accelerating impact.
• Uygulama kilometre taşları
  1. Phase 1 (Months 1–12): establish baseline metrics in 3–5 communities in Brazil, complete training for targeted farmers, deploy monitoring tools, and begin data collection on emissions, water use, and soil health.
  2. Phase 2 (Months 13–24): expand to 15–25 communities, plant climate-smart crops where applicable, and implement scalable practices that demonstrate improved yield and reduced footprint while maintaining crop quality.
  3. Phase 3 (Months 25–36): scale across 40+ communities, consolidate data into a shared learning platform, and publish impact reports that quantify improvements in sustainable farming indicators and community benefits.
  4. Ongoing: conduct regular monitoring, verify progress, and adapt the process to maximize impact, ensuring that improvements are sustainable for farmers, communities, and the broader cocoa supply chain.

Monitoring, verification, and data transparency across cocoa supply chains

Bir ground-breaking, shared, auditable data platform that links farm practices to verified emissions removals, enabling real-time monitoring and independent verification across cocoa supply chains.

Embed this platform in a formal plan with clear status indicators, quarterly updates, and public summaries that note changesile cargill overseeing the chain.

That approach keeps Meksika ve Brezilya programs aligned, enabling a cross-border view of emissions reductions and farm-level improvements.

From the field to the consumer, the data spine supports Nesquik ve Smarties lines to demonstrate impact without leaking sensitive farm data.

We track removals, soil health, and crop yields as core metrics, with third-party validators auditing samples periodically.

Darrell not ediyor ki goal is not only compliance but changes in farmer livelihoods, which strengthens trust with partners and creates a gururlu, practical example for the current landscape.

Several pilots in Brezilya ve Meksika serve as learning tests, and the plan includes scalable steps, risk controls, and a timetable for progress reviews.

The team will address data gaps by standardizing measurements, building capacity at farm sites, and investing in local data collectors–keeping the chain close and accountable.

Farmer benefits and livelihood improvements through decarbonization efforts

Launch an on-farm decarbonization plan now to lift farmer incomes, resilience, and community well-being while lowering the footprint for the company Nestlé and its partner suppliers.

On-farm actions link transparent sourcing with processed cocoa readiness. The approach improves biodiversity, soil health, and shade-tree coverage to cut emissions and deforestation risk, while stabilizing yields and reducing post-harvest losses for surrounding farming communities, with income more stable than before.

In Côte d’Ivoire, five participating farming communities hosted two projects that align with remi and removals pathways, delivering tangible results: average yields rose by 12% within two harvest cycles, and income per hectare grew by around 18% due to better input timing, smarter fertilizer use, and reduced energy costs from solar drying. The overall footprint per ton of cocoa dropped about 15% as on-farm processing cuts transport and processing emissions.

Farmers gain from premium payments for sustainable sourcing, more predictable contracts, and access to finance for equipment, shade trees, and storage. Remedial actions reduce risk from climate variability and help families diversify income locally, supporting education and health while preserving biodiversity in the surrounding environment.

For corporate growth, Nestlé and partner organizations plan to scale these initiatives across Côte d’Ivoire and beyond in the course of the year. The program emphasizes training, access to finance, and market linkages to drive sustainable farming, keep deforestation out of the supply chain, and expand carbon removals opportunities. The five-year course aims to reach more farmers and continue to progress toward a reliable sourcing footprint, including products like smarties, respecting Côte d’Ivoire’s biodiversity and surrounding communities.