Dairy giant Danone has unveiled a strategy to reduce its absolute methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030.
The company expects to eliminate 1.2 billion tons carbon dioxide equivalent of methane emissions by the end of the decade. Danone says that it already reduced its methane emissions by around 14% between 2018 and 2020.
The French dairy company claims that it is the first food company to set a methane reduction target and align with the ambition of the Global Methane Pledge launched by the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
As part of its efforts, Danone is working with 58,000 farmers across 20 countries to implement regenerative dairy practices and develop innovative solutions. The group is also collaborating with Environmental Defense Fund and other partners to scale innovation and advance financing models.
In addition, the commitment will see Danone engaging with governments to improve methane policies, data and reporting.
CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “Dairy products are an affordable source of nutrition for many people, at the core of our mission to bring health through food. As one of the largest dairy companies, we take the challenge of both producing more [to feed a growing population] and greatly reducing emissions and impact on climate.”
He continued: “Our ambitious plan to reduce methane emissions – in line with Global Methane Pledges from 150 countries – is a commitment to build regenerative dairy. This step change requires a collective effort. Working with farmers, partners and governments, we have the power and duty to build farming models that benefit the climate and society, taking a step forward to tackling global warming together.”
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