Danone to Reduce Methane Emissions from Dairy Supply Chain by 30%

(Credit: Danone)

A new sustainability commitment from French-based company Danone aims to achieve a 30% reduction in methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 2030, a major source of its greenhouse gas footprint. This commitment is in alignment with 150 countries to reduce overall emissions related to methane. With this new initiative, Danone expects to remove 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent to methane emissions by 2030.

Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, having 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. It is emitted from many sources such as agriculture, fossil fuel production and transportation, coal mining, and landfills. As a part of the climate change goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C, rapid reductions in methane emissions are considered one of the most effective near-term measures.

An estimated 25% of Danone’s full-scope emissions are from methane, of which approximately 70% are attributed to fresh milk, and the remaining 30% to indirect dairy ingredients.

Breakdown of Danone’s Plan

The company outlined a series of initiatives that it believes will help them achieve its goal, including working with farmers to implement regenerative dairy practices and developing innovative solutions. According to Danone, its regenerative agriculture program and other initiatives have assisted projects for dairy farms in 14 countries while directly working with 58,000 dairy farmers.

Danone added it would work with peers, governments, and the Environmental Defense Fund to advance financing models, scale up innovation, and improve reporting. It would also lobby governments for better methane policies, data, and reporting, as well as funding for research and assistance for farmers switching to regenerative dairy practices.

Danone, which cut methane emissions by 14% from 2018 to 2020, aligned its new targets with the Global Methane Pledge, an agreement reached between the US and EU at COP26 to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.