Food and drink giant Nestlé announced on 30 April that just over three-quarters (77%) of its agricultural commodities (meat, palm oil, pulp and paper, soya and sugar) were now verified as deforestation-free, compared to 63% in 2018.
The Swiss company said it had reached this “key milestone” nine years after it pledged to ensure none of its products would be associated with deforestation by 2020.
Since 2010, Nestlé had worked with aviation firm Airbus, environmental group Earthworm Foundation and its suppliers to identify areas at risk of deforestation.
The company said it has used tools such as supply chain mapping, on-the-ground verification and satellite imagery to achieve this goal.
“Nestlé is the first company to use satellite monitoring across all its palm oil supply chain, accelerating its no deforestation commitment and providing such level of transparency to the public,” said Earthworm Foundation CEO Bastien Sachet.
On 1 March, Nestlé wrote that 60% of its palm oil (425,000 tonnes) and 72% of its soyabean (477,000 tonnes) were deforestation free.