Nestlé backs major reforestation projects in Brazil to boost cocoa, coffee supply chains
The company will plant 11 million trees through two projects aimed at ecosystem restoration and supply chain resilience.
BRAZIL – Nestlé has launched two large-scale environmental restoration projects in Brazil in collaboration with reforestation startup re.green and chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut.
These efforts aim to plant 11 million trees across 8,000 hectares in key agricultural areas.
The initiatives form part of Nestlé’s wider ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The company also seeks to enhance environmental resilience in regions critical to its coffee and cocoa sourcing operations.
The re.green project, backed entirely by Nestlé, will span 30 years and involve planting 3.3 million native trees in the Atlantic rainforest region of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. The effort is projected to generate 880,000 carbon credits over its duration.
The second project, in partnership with Barry Callebaut, targets the restoration of 6,000 hectares in the states of Bahia and Pará. Most of this land will be transformed into cocoa-based agroforestry systems. Nestlé will fund 60% of this initiative’s cost.
“These projects will support our decarbonization targets, but our sustainability strategy goes beyond carbon removal,” said Barbara Sapunar, Nestlé Brasil’s Business Transformation and ESG Director. “We want to regenerate areas in regions where we source ingredients.”
Re.green CEO Thiago Picolo noted that the partnerships demonstrate how companies can move beyond carbon offsetting by restoring landscapes directly connected to their supply chains.
Brazil, the world’s largest coffee exporter and fifth-largest chocolate market, is projected to harvest 300,000 tonnes of cocoa this year—a 4% increase from 2024, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The country’s target is to reach 400,000 tonnes of cocoa production by 2030.
Nestlé’s reforestation efforts in Brazil contribute to its global goal of planting 200 million trees by 2030 in ingredient-producing regions, including coffee, cocoa, and milk.
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