Arla expects its new strategy to ‘take its farmer owners to the next level by helping them take further positive steps towards more sustainable milk production’.
“We can and we have taken a stand on animal welfare, climate change, sustainability and other environmental issues,” said CEO Peder Tuborgh. “In Arla, we believe that by working with sustainable solutions, across the entire value chain, we will increase our competitiveness.”
Arla’s Sustainable Dairy Farming Strategy was defined throughout 2013 across the countries where Arla has farmer owners: Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The strategy was developed in joint cooperation with Arla experts and by Arla’s owners, and was discussed in Arla’s National Councils and approved by the board of directors. The overall goal is that, by 2020, the carbon footprint per kilogram of milk from Arla farms will be reduced by 30% compared to 1990.
“It is a great achievement to have our farmers involved in developing Arla’s sustainability strategy for their farms, in a way that makes them feel comfortable with the fact that sustainability is not to the detriment of financial performance,” said Åke Hantoft, chairman of Arla.
To develop the strategy, experiences from each owner country have been gathered and four focus areas have been defined and will set direction in Arla’s work:
“The strategy does not place new demands on farmers, over and above the high standards already included in the Arlagården programme,” said Henrik Damholt Jørgensen, vice president of global member services. “Arla is already a sustainable company, but we want to take it to the next level by providing farmers new opportunities. Offering voluntary on-farm carbon assessments and farm workshops to our farmers will help them become even better.”
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