Ingredients supplier Glanbia Ireland announced that following a year of planning, it has pledged to achieve a 30% absolute reduction in carbon emissions from its processing sites by 2030, and will work with their dairy farmers toward a similar cut in carbon intensity from milk production. The targets are laid out in a sustainability strategy called Living Proof, which the company launched today.
 
Glanbia Ireland and its 2,000 employees will prioritize actions in air and water quality, animal health and welfare, biodiversity, packaging, production, and other areas, the company said. It has also agreed to participate in the Science-Based Targets initiative to show a clear commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through science and technology.
 
“Over the years Glanbia Ireland has shown the necessary sustainability leadership required to future-proof Ireland’s biggest indigenous sector, the agri-food sector,” Francois Morgan, chief innovation and sustainability officer of Glanbia Ireland, said. “We’ve signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative and are committed to delivering on our promises. Through a strong sustainability roadmap, improved energy efficiency, technology developments, migration to renewable energy sources, the delivery of high quality nutritious products with a low impact on the environment and a range of science-based and targeted initiatives, everyone at Glanbia Ireland is committed to ensuring that we will deliver a healthier future for all.”
 
“Irish farmers are among the best in the world and are showing their determination to adapt to the requirement for science-based climate action,” CEO Jim Bergin said. “Farm families are proud custodians of the rural environment, and we will support our farmers in addressing challenges and building on Ireland’s great natural credentials. Farmers have proven their willingness to adapt and change many times.”
 
This is a step in the company’s goal to achieve net zero carbon by no later than 2050 in line with the Irish Government’s legislative commitment in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill, and will show the commitment of the farming community and the company to achieve the targets set out in the company’s plans. The five priority areas of the strategy include carbon reduction, regenerative agriculture, natural nutrition, a circular economy, and “growing together.”
 
“From humble beginnings in the cooperative movement, Glanbia Ireland has become a global name in food and nutrition,” John Murphy, chairman, said. “We work closely with our 6,000 farm family suppliers and pride ourselves in ensuring that producing exceptional quality food and ingredients is at the heart of everything we do. This sustainability strategy will be central to maintaining Glanbia’s competitive edge in a post-Brexit landscape and places our company and our farmers at the cutting edge of sustainable farming.”
 
James Payne, associate director from the international nonprofit Forum for the Future said that the 2020’s will be a particularly urgent time period for making the operations of food supplies sustainable. “In working with Glanbia Ireland to identify global sustainability best practice and shaping a future-fit strategy to meet the challenges of the decade ahead, I was struck by how well positioned Glanbia Ireland is to successfully address these opportunities,” he said. “From being a farmer-owned cooperative to its unusual breadth of involvement with its value chain from feed and farm inputs to its farmers to customers and consumers, the business is very well placed to deliver the deeper change and disruptive innovation needed to tackle the key sustainability issues it faces.”