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From May 2009, leading Swiss dairy brand Emmi will produce its yogurt and muesli products in Emmen, Switzerland, using renewable energy.

The brand is working with partners to build a wood chip plant that will generate steam for Emmi's dairy production. The new eco-friendly steam plant will save Emmi 1.6 million litres of heating oil annually.

Each year, Emmi uses some 32,000 tons of steam at Emmen during the manufacturing process. To date, the steam has been powered by heating oil.

To reduce heavy CO2 emissions and trim costs, Emmi has decided that it will generate 70% of the steam using green energy. To this end, construction began this month and the total project investment is around CHF3.5m.

From late May 2009, the new facility is expected to produce some 22,000 tons of steam per year. The existing steam plant will remain operational to cover peak demand and at times of malfunction or during maintenance work. However, it will be powered with environmentally friendly natural gas instead of heating oil.

In all, Emmi will save about 1.6 million litres of heating oil a year – equivalent to that consumed by 800 single family homes. The switch to the wood chip facility means a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of some 4,700 tons a year.

Since 2005, Emmi has been working towards reaching the CO2 objectives agreed for 2012. These include reducing CO2 intensity to 79.18% and increasing energy efficiency by 12.18% compared to 2000 figures. Emmi will exceed this goal – set with the Federal Council – thanks mainly to the new wood chip facility in Emmen.