Nutella Exposed: Vegan Formula and Certified Oil Mask Ferrero’s Green Lobbying Efforts

The establishment of intensive palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia, as well as in Africa and Latin America, has disastrous effects that accelerate climate change. Indonesia, the world’s leading producer of palm oil, has lost 19% of its vegetative cover between 2001 and 2023, which is about 30 million hectares, according to Global Forest Watch. Palm plantations are responsible for 15% of Indonesian deforestation from 1990 to 2015. This figure rises to 40% in Malaysia.

In its CSR report for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Ferrero highlights its environmental achievements and goals. Over 90% of its packaging is designed to be recyclable, reusable, or compostable. The chocolatier also boasts having achieved over 90% traceability of its main ingredients. In terms of goals, Ferrero aims to reduce its direct and indirect emissions related to the production and transportation of its products by 42% by 2030 (compared to 2018 figures).

A very active communication policy that Céline Réveillac describes as “greenwashing” (a commercial strategy that involves misleadingly promoting an environmental argument). Ferrero thus walks a fine line “between greenwashing and honesty,” continues the expert. This is especially true since the former is banned by European Union regulations. “Ferrero’s communication on the subject works, at least for the majority of the population, because while they were criticized a decade ago, today the subject is overlooked,” Réveillac further notes. A feat achieved through significant advertising investment. Ferrero (17 billion euros in revenue for the fiscal year 2022-2023) has also been one of the most fervent opponents of the mandatory Nutri-Score labeling for several years, through intense lobbying at the European level, documented by numerous French media. Not surprisingly, since the site Open Food Facts gives the spread an E rating at the Nutri-Score and the Green-Score — denoting a “very high environmental impact.”

In Italy, where Ferrero enjoys strong popular support, the cultivation of hazelnuts is increasingly expanding. This extension of monoculture is not without environmental impact, as revealed by the Financial Times in a 2021 investigation which estimated that the brand could increase the area dedicated to this culture by 90,000 hectares in its country of origin by 2025. And this, with the approval of the European Union: the rural development plan from 2020 to 2024 recommended the extension of hazelnut monoculture on Italian territory. A further proof of the effectiveness of the chocolatier’s lobbying and communication.