Nestlé has teamed up with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) to establish a new research programme that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of agricultural raw materials.
The programme – which will receive a CHF 2.8 million ($3.12 million) investment from Nestlé – will focus on two major areas: agricultural crops and dairy farming.
As part of the partnership, the companies will explore interdisciplinary solutions to reduce the effects of climate change, while increasing nutritional quality and yield in dairy and crop farming.
The agricultural crop research will focus on the nutritional value of crops including fibres, proteins and micronutrients, with a particular focus on finding suitable crops as ingredients in plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood and dairy products. Meanwhile, the programme will also look into the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in dairy farming.
Stefan Palzer, Nestlé CTO, said: “We’re delighted to extend our longstanding collaboration with ETH Zurich – one of the world’s leading academic institutions – to the agricultural sciences, to reduce the carbon footprint of agricultural raw materials. The development of more climate-friendly ingredients and products is a key focus area for Nestlé to help reduce our global carbon footprint.”
The new research programme builds on a number of existing collaborations between Nestlé and the two Swiss Federal Institutes in Zurich and Lausanne on topics such as food engineering, nutrition and most recently, sustainable packaging.
In 2019, Nestlé and ETH Zurich co-founded the Future Food Initiative along with Bühler and Givaudan, which aims to accelerate the development of healthy food products and sustainable packaging.
“We are looking forward to continuing a long tradition of collaborations with Nestlé as a trusted partner. Only by working together across disciplines and sectors we will be able to provide sustainable and secure food in the long term,” said ETH Zurich president, Joël Mesot.
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