Nestle has reconsidered utilising offsets to achieve carbon neutrality

Nestle, the world’s largest food maker, is abandoning the practice of acquiring carbon offsets as a tool for reducing its carbon footprint. Instead, it would make investments in its own businesses and supply chains to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many businesses that claim to be fossil-neutral or working towards net-zero goals employ carbon offsetting to offset the emissions they emit into the environment. They purchase certificates linked to projects that reduce CO2 emissions globally, such as forest restoration, energy from renewable sources, and carbon-storing agriculture.

The issue is that these efforts do not always result in lower emissions. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gongloff, a wildfire recently destroyed over 250 square kilometres of trees in an offset project in British Columbia. This is only a small portion of the larger project, but it demonstrates just how challenging it is to prove the environmental advantages of carbon offsets.

Nestle stated in an announcement to Quartz that decreasing emissions would make the largest difference in meeting its net-zero ambitions.

Nestle isn’t the only firm abandoning carbon offsets. EasyJet’s carbon offset programme came to an end in September. According to the CEO of the European airline, the funds would be better invested in new technologies such as fuel-efficient planes that drastically decrease carbon emissions. Nestle is still aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Swiss food conglomerate says it plans to get 50% of its major components from organic farming by the year 2030, as well as make investments in more sustainable shipping, packaging, and production.