Source : Arla Foods

• Arla’s climate target to reduce GHG emissions by 25% in production, transport and packaging in 2020;
• Every year Arla calculates the total carbon footprint from farm to factory;
• In 2010: a 6.2% reduction was achieved;
• A new project has started to develop a model to calculate the carbon footprint at farm level.
  

Arla’s climate target is to reduce direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases by 25 per cent in production, transport and packaging from the 2005 level by 2020. In 2010 the emissions were reduced by about 6.2% (i.e. almost a quarter of the target was fulfilled). The next step is now to focus on the farm.

Every year Arla Foods calculates the total carbon footprint, from farm to factory (following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol). As the primary production stands for >80 of total greenhouse gas emissions, Arla obviously acknowledges the importance of also include the farm in the work of emission reductions. Thus, a project is started to calculate the carbon footprint on farm level and Arla will develop a model to do this. The carbon footprint is already calculated at many of Arla’s milk suppliers in the UK, and with the new model Arla is developing it will also be possible for farmers in Denmark and Sweden to have the carbon footprint calculated for their milk. Additionally, the carbon footprint for the average milk in each country will be calculated for the base year 2005, to be able to measure improvements.

Some of Arla’s focus areas are:

Farm

• Optimise feed formulations
• Treatment of manure and fertiliser
• Analyse possibilities for biogas production

Transport

• Use of sustainable bio-fuel in trucks
• Training drivers to drive in an environmentally friendly way (see the video available at the first link below)
• Increase fuel efficiency by one per cent annually

Food production

• Use environmentally friendly technologies
• Change from fossil to renewable energy sources
• Increasing energy and water efficiency by three per cent annually

Packaging

• Minimising the amount of packaging we use
• Increase our use of low-impact materials
• Achieve 100 per cent recyclable packaging materials

Additional initiatives to reduce emissions can be found under the other areas of the Green Paper database and more information can be found at:

http://www.arla.com/closer-to-nature/environment/green-house-gas-emissions/

http://www.arla.com/closer-to-nature/environment/environment-climate-log/

http://www.arla.com/our-responsibility/csr-reports/