Nestlé and ETH Zurich establish a new research program that will explore climate change solutions while increasing nutritional quality and agricultural yield.

The program, coordinated by the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich, will focus on agricultural crops and dairy farming. The agricultural crop research will concentrate on the nutritional value of crops like fibres, proteins and micronutrients. It will also identify crops that are ideal ingredients for tasty and nutritious plant-based alternatives to meat, seafood and dairy products. Meanwhile, the dairy farming research will focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in dairy farming.

Stefan Palzer, Nestlé CTO, said: “We’re delighted to extend our long-standing 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.” Nestlé is investing CHF 2.8 million in this comprehensive research program.

ETH Zurich President, Joël Mesot, added: “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.”

The new research program complements existing collaborations with ETH Zurich and EPFL on food engineering, nutrition, and sustainable packaging. Nestlé and ETH Zurich co-founded The Future Food Initiative launched in 2019.

For more information:

Melanie Kohli
Head of R&D Communications
melaniececile.kohli@nestle.com

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