France-headed dairy products major Danone has announced that its baby formula production facility in Wexford, Ireland has achieved carbon-neutral certification in line with its ‘One Planet, One Health’ frame of action. The Wexford zero-waste to landfill facility powered by 100 percent renewable electricity and biomass heat is the first carbon-neutral baby formula plant in the world certified by the Carbon Trust.
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According to a statement, Danone has transformed its Wexford site into a carbon-neutral facility between 2010 and 2020 whilst doubling production volumes. The facility in Wexford, Ireland is the first baby formula production site in the world to be certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust, an independent global climate change and sustainability consultancy.
This industry-leading milestone is a step towards achieving the company’s goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050 and, the company says, illustrates how Danone executes on its ‘One Planet. One Health’ frame of action, to protect the health of people and that of the planet.
Green grass, bioheat, and renewable power
Danone Wexford is located in one of the world’s leading sustainable grass-fed dairy sectors and employs 350 people. It produces leading brands like Aptamil, Cow & Gate, and Nutrilon for consumers in 41 countries around the world.
The plant sustainably manufactures high-quality baby formula by sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity and uses a biomass boiler powered by sustainable wood fuels sourced locally providing a positive economic impact in Wexford County.
This has resulted in 10 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) savings compared to the plant’s emissions in 2010, representing a 70 percent reduction in its direct carbon footprint, whilst doubling its production volumes since then.
Gold Standard offset
Since the end of 2019, the remaining direct carbon emissions of the plant have been fully offset with Gold Standard certificates. By implementing digital technologies for efficiencies and sustainability performance, the facility has developed a digital roadmap that includes a significant number of initiatives to become a paperless site, using drones for monitoring inventory and innovative technologies for monitoring energy.
In addition, all waste from production processes or packaging materials is recovered thus the facility has achieved zero-waste to landfill. The company is a verified member of Origin Green, the only global food and drink sustainability program uniting government, food producers, and the private sector.
At extraordinary times like the one we are living at the moment, it is more important than ever to protect the local ecosystems where we operate and create sustainable value for everyone. Our One Planet. One Health frame of action puts climate at the core of our growth model. The carbon-neutral certification of Danone Wexford is an excellent illustration of implementing climate action to protect the health of the planet and of the people. It is also a step towards realizing our commitment to achieving zero net carbon emissions across our entire value chain by 2050 and I truly want to congratulate our people in Wexford for realizing an ambitious vision set more than 10 years ago. This is only a first step and we should accelerate even more to create a low-emissions, climate-resilient future. It is through key investments like this one that we take a step forward towards reaching this ambition, said Emmanuel Faber, Chairman, and CEO of Danone.
