- Danone targets a 30% absolute reduction in methane emissions from fresh milk used in its dairy products, the first food company to align targets with the Global Methane Pledge.
- Danone launches a new partnership with Environmental Defense Fund to accelerate its efforts.
Danone, a major food company and one of the largest dairy companies in the world, announced a global plan to cut methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030.
Danone aims to eliminate 1.2 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent methane emissions by 2030. This big goal builds on what Danone has already done, like cutting methane emissions by 14% between 2018 and 2020.
The IPCC says that reducing methane emissions has immediate benefits for the climate that reducing carbon dioxide alone can’t provide.
About 8% of all human-made methane emissions come from agriculture and livestock operations, which are responsible for about 40% of all methane emissions in the world.
The ways the food company plans to reach its goals are:
- Working with farmers to use regenerative dairy practices and come up with new ideas;
- Working with peers, governments, and the Environmental Defense Fund to scale up innovations, improve reporting, and advance funding models;
- Advocating and working with governments to improve methane policies, data, and reporting, as well as funding for research and helping farmers switch to regenerative dairy practices.
Danone is the first food company to make a goal for reducing methane emissions that matches the purposes of the Global Methane Pledge, which was released at COP26. In addition, the company will report on its methane emissions as part of its additional financial disclosure.
