Nestlé in society Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015

Nestlé in society:
Creating Shared Value
Nutrition, health
and wellness
Rural development
Water
Environmental
sustainability
Human rights
and compliance
Our
people
G4-EC7, Procurement practices G4-DMA, Supplier environmental assessment G4-DMA, G4-EN33, Supplier assessment for labor practices G4-DMA, G4-LA15,
G4-HR10, Local communities G4-DMA, G4-SO9, G4-SO10
Expanding coffee production
in China
Tea has been China’s national drink for 3000 years. However,
the country is now one of the world’s fastest-growing coffee
markets. Nestlé began supporting coffee production in China
in the 1980s. The Government wanted to help smallholders,
who traditionally grew tea, maize or corn for poor returns, to
escape poverty and so encouraged the growth of more
profitable coffee.
Growth since then has been rapid; in Pu’er region, where
most of China’s coffee is grown, production has risen from
zero in 1988 to more than 50 000 tonnes today – and it’s still
increasing. This has been helped by the establishment of
Nestlé’s experimental coffee farm, where tree types best
suited to local conditions are chosen from plants bred at our
R&D Centre in Tours, France. At Nestlé’s Pu’er buying station,
we purchase green arabica coffee beans grown locally for use
in Nescafé through Farmer Connect.
Our agronomists work closely with China’s coffee farmers
and local authorities to help farmers improve yield and quality.
We have run over 250 training courses, supporting more than
15 000 farmers to learn coffee-growing skills, processing and
cup tasting. We’ve helped them to generate high yields and
improve coffee quality, while teaching them sustainable
production methods and ways to reduce production costs.
Through the Nescafé Plan, introduced in China in 2011, we
have developed farmer training to focus on the NBFP and
implement the 4C Code.
The role of plant science
Nestlé carries out extensive research into plant science to help
farmers produce their crops in a way that ensures their
long-term economic future and preserves the environment.
We work through a network of R&D centres, together with
Nestlé agronomists in producing countries and in close
coordination with national agricultural institutes, private
partners and local governments. Our activities are centred on:
• Plant selection and breeding to offer a better choice of plant
varieties to farmers;
• In vitro research to preserve genetic diversity and deliver
better plants to farmers;
• Developing a consumer-centric understanding of the quality
of raw materials and how they impact our products; and
• Helping farmers through practices that improve
productivity, crop quality and environmental protection.
This research is fundamental to our coffee programmes, and
we’ve invested significant resources in developing higheryield,
disease-resistant coffee plantlets, as well as distributing
millions of them to farmers around the world. This represents a
long-term investment that far exceeds general development
projects, starting with the seed or plant tissue and culminating
in testing and monitoring how the plant performs in the field.
For example, our R&D Centre in Tours, France, has been
testing new ways of eliminating coffee cherry pulps to reduce
water use, while preserving the delicate quality of the coffee.
In parallel, varieties of coffee trees that are more drought
resistant are being developed, while others that are more
productive and disease resistant allow for a better use of land
and water. These tools are then offered to farmers through our
sustainability programmes, such as the Nespresso AAA
Sustainable Quality Program and the Nescafé Plan.
Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program
The Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, developed
in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance, aims to protect
the highest-quality coffees required to meet the strict quality
and taste standards for Nespresso Grands Crus, while
preserving the environment and enhancing farmer welfare.
Through long-term, direct relationships with more than
74 000 farmers in 12 countries, the AAA Program ensures
coffee supplies are traceable to farm level. Over 330 dedicated
agronomists work closely with farmers on the ground, training
them in sustainable farming practices, quality improvement
and optimising farm productivity, thereby helping to secure
their livelihoods through higher net incomes.
Our objective
By 2020 – Source 100% of the coffee for Nespresso’s
permanent range through its AAA Sustainable Quality
Program on coffee sourcing, and improve farmer
social welfare.
Share of coffee in Nespresso’s permanent range
sourced through the Nespresso AAA Sustainable
Quality Program (%)
Goal: 100% by 2020
2015 85
2014 82*
2013 84
0%
50%
100%
*
In 2014, Nespresso increased the volume of AAA coffee it purchased. However,
the percentage of AAA coffee declined due to the increased purchase of coffees
from Africa, where the AAA Program is not yet well established. Nespresso aims to
purchase 100% AAA coffee by 2020, and is actively expanding the AAA Program in
Ethiopia and Kenya to reach this target (see page 120).
At the end of 2015, Nespresso was sourcing 85% of its coffee
through its AAA Sustainable Quality Program, with more
than 290 000 hectares of farmland under active sustainable
management. Nespresso plans to source 100% of its coffee
from its AAA Sustainable Quality Program by 2020. It is also
implementing innovative welfare solutions for farmers, such as
a pilot retirement savings plan in Colombia.
Read our about Nespresso’s Positive Cup goals in
Environmental sustainability
Nestlé in society – Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015 119