Fonterra Welcomes Global Dairy Industry's Commitment To Tackling Climate Change
Fonterra welcomes the commitment by dairy organisations around the world to work together to tackle climate change.
Fonterra played a key role in developing the Global Dairy Agenda for Action on Climate Change, which was signed yesterday at the World Dairy Summit in Berlin.
“This Agenda for Action is a significant step forward in addressing greenhouse gas emissions related to dairying worldwide,” says John Hutchings, Fonterra’s General Manager Sustainable Production.
“Never before have such a wide range of dairy organisations and companies from throughout the dairy supply chain come together to commit to finding practical ways of addressing climate change.
“Climate change initiatives have already been launched by dairy organisations around the world, but the participants to this Agenda for Action saw the need to pool knowledge and resources to achieve the changes in technology and practice needed to further reduce emissions.
“The importance of the Agenda was reinforced by comments made at the signing by World Wildlife Fund’s Director Livestock Agriculture, Bryan Weech, who said, "this is a significant and historic moment and WWF is honoured to be involved. Climate change is a key issue for WWF. The Agenda for Action signed today is the beginning of closer co-operation on climate change by the dairy supply chain."”
The Agenda for Action outlines the global dairy industry’s commitment to addressing climate change. It also calls for policy makers to provide a regulatory environment in which the sector can deliver these commitments, without compromising the industry’s contribution to global nutritional and social wellbeing.
Fonterra is party to the Agenda through its membership of three signatories. It intends to be an active participant as the Agenda evolves.
Signatories to the Agenda for Action include the following international and regional dairy organisations: International Dairy Federation, Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform, Global Dairy Platform, International Federation of Agricultural Producers, European Dairy Association, Federacion Panamericana de Lecheria, and Eastern and Southern African Dairy Association. Fonterra is a member of the first three.
Other participants include Nestle, Tetrapak, De Laval and Friesland Campina.
Mr Hutchings says the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in New Zealand will also incentivise Fonterra and dairy farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as staying very focused on investing in research to deliver solutions for tomorrow.
“While methane and nitrous oxide don’t enter the ETS until 2015, both Fonterra and farmers, as significant users of electricity and fuel, will enter the scheme from July next year. We have already had a big drive to improve the energy efficiency of our manufacturing operations and we will be looking for ways to further reduce carbon emissions,” says Mr Hutchings.
“We are pleased that the New Zealand Government’s proposed changes to the ETS will mean emissions units are allocated according to intensity of emissions – that is, per unit of output – which is in line with the approach of this Agenda for Action.”
The entry of agricultural greenhouse gases in 2015 recognises the limited mitigation opportunities currently available to farmers.
“We will use this time to work with Government and other pastoral stakeholders to develop existing on-farm reporting tools to allow farmers to be responsible for their own emissions from 2015. This will be the most effective way to bring about the behaviour change necessary to reduce emissions below business as usual levels.”
Signatories to the Agenda for Action have committed to undertaking specific actions in a number of key areas, such as emissions reduction, energy efficiency and transport efficiency.
A Green Paper, which details climate change initiatives already taking place in the organisations and companies involved, accompanies the Agenda for Action. Both are living documents that will evolve over time. There will be follow up reporting on a regular and transparent basis to provide a catalyst for continuous improvement.
Fonterra already has initiatives underway across the dairy supply chain to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases below business as usual levels. These include working with farmers to minimise on-farm emissions, optimising energy efficiency at manufacturing sites and improving transport efficiency. Earlier this year Fonterra completed calculation of the carbon footprint of its main dairy products to help identify where further emissions reductions can be made.
Fonterra is also investing in research with its industry partners in New Zealand to find ways of reducing agricultural greenhouse gases. This includes the recently announced $10m programme, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and others, to confirm the effectiveness of nitrification inhibitors.
About Fonterra
Fonterra is a global leader in dairy nutrition – the preferred supplier of dairy ingredients to many of the world’s leading food companies. Fonterra is also a market leader with our own consumer dairy brands in Australia/New Zealand, Asia/Africa, Middle East and Latin America.
The farmer-owned New Zealand co-operative is the largest processor of milk in the world, producing more than two million tonnes of dairy ingredients, value added dairy ingredients, specialty ingredients and consumer products every year. Drawing on generations of dairy expertise, Fonterra is one of the largest investors in dairy based research and innovation in the world. Our 16,000 staff work across the dairy spectrum from advising farmers on sustainable farming and milk production, to ensuring we live up to exacting quality standards and delivering every day on our customer promise in more than 100 markets around the world.
