Nestlé now says 20.7% of its key ingredients came from farmers adopting regenerative practices in 2025, after changing how it measures

October 2026 — Nestlé says 20.7% of its key ingredients came from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices in 2025. The company says that number differs from its 2025 Non-Financial Statement because it changed its method in the first half of 2026. Here's what happened, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Oct. 29, 2026)

Outcome (Nestlé claim): 20.7% of key ingredients from farmers adopting regenerative practices in 2025, restated. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)
Target: 50% of key ingredient volumes by 2030. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)
What changed: Ingredient volumes are now converted back to their original fresh state instead of their processed form. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)
Cost: Nestlé's page doesn't give program spending.

The restatement

Nestlé's page shows 20.7% of key ingredients sourced from farmers adopting regenerative practices in 2025. A footnote says the number differs from the 2025 Non-Financial Statement "due to a change in the methodology during the first half of 2026." (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

Under the new method, Nestlé says it considers "ingredients volumes converted back to their original fresh state, instead of their processed form." (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

A second footnote says the key-ingredient scope changed from 2026 onward. It now covers cereals and grains; cocoa; coconut; dairy; hazelnuts; green coffee; meat, poultry and eggs; soy; spices; sugar; vegetables; and vegetable fat oils, including palm oil. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

The target is 50% of key ingredient volumes by 2030. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

How Nestlé counts a farm

Nestlé grades farms with its Farm Assessment Tool. It rates practices and outcomes for soil health, biodiversity, water, livestock and farm management, with crop-specific versions. Farms are classed as engaged in transition (Level 1), Advanced (Level 2) or Leading (Level 3). (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

Nestlé says it assesses every farm in regenerative projects "whenever feasible" and otherwise uses samples. Where it can't trace to the farm, assessments happen within the "supply shed" of the primary processor or first aggregator. It also benchmarks some suppliers' own tools against its requirements. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

Programs behind the number

Nestlé says nearly two-thirds of its greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

Its Farmer Connect program works with more than 500,000 farmers and 150,000 suppliers in supply chains including fresh milk, coffee, cereals and cocoa. In coffee, more than 1,600 field staff have delivered more than 100,000 training sessions. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

In Brazil, Nestlé says more than 100 farmers in its Nature por Ninho dairy program have reached Level 2. In the U.K., about 75 farmers in the First Milk co-op apply regenerative practices. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

In 2026 Nestlé joined more than 40 companies supporting the SAI Platform's Regenerating Together Programme, which aims for consistent verification across supply chains. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

"The focus is on supporting, training, and providing financial support to suppliers and farmers and ramping up initiatives," said Pascal Chapot, Nestlé's group head of sustainable agriculture development. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)

What went wrong

The yardstick moved. The key-ingredient scope and the volume method both changed in 2026, so 2025's 20.7% isn't directly comparable with earlier reported figures. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)
Sampling, not census. Where farms can't be traced, Nestlé assesses a sample or a supply shed, not each farm. (Nestlé, regenerative agriculture page, read Oct. 29, 2026)
Long way to target. At 20.7%, Nestlé is well under halfway to its 50% goal for 2030 (our arithmetic).
What we don't know yet: the share at each Farm Assessment Tool level, and who verifies the 20.7%.

Our follow-up question for Nestlé

How many Level 1, 2 and 3 farms make up the 20.7%, and is it externally assured?

Sources

Nestlé, “Regenerative agriculture” (web page, undated; read Oct. 29, 2026). nestle.com

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder