Carbon neutral: Danone’s “world first” for baby formula production facility

01 Jul 2020 --- Danone’s baby formula production facility in Wexford, Ireland, has been certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust. The company says this certification makes it the first site of this type to receive this status from the independent global climate change and sustainability consultancy. Notably, Danone was able to reduce the plant’s absolute CO2 emissions by more than 70 percent, while the production output more than doubled. The decade-long process has involved curbing carbon emissions, supporting the local economy, leveraging digital technologies and achieving zero-waste to landfill status.

“People care deeply about where their food comes from, how it was grown, how it arrived on their plates and how it impacts their health and the health of the planet. To adequately respond to the challenges and opportunities of people’s evolving expectations of the food and drink they buy, we continuously look for ways to manufacture food in ways that bring health to people and the planet,” Paul Kennedy, Global Sustainability Manager, Specialized Nutrition at Danone tells NutritionInsight.

The carbon neutral certification of Danone’s Wexford production site for baby formula is a step toward achieving the company’s goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the company’s “One Planet. One Health” mission to protect the health of people and that of the planet.

Innova Market Insights also reports increased interest in sustainability, pinpointing “The Sustain Domain” as its number three trend for 2020. The trend represents increased consumer expectations for companies to invest in sustainability.

The sustainable wood fuel powering Danone Wexford’s biomass boiler is sourced from the local wood chipping industry.The market researcher indicates that in 2019, on average, 85 percent of US and UK consumers expect companies to invest in sustainability, up from 64 percent in 2018. In the area of food waste, upcycling is the new recycling, as companies strive to follow a zero-waste approach by creating value from byproducts.

Danone’s strategy to achieve zero net carbon emissions is built around four pillars: reducing emissions; transforming agricultural practices to sequester more carbon in the ground; eliminating deforestation from its supply chain; and offsetting the emissions that remain.

A decade of advancements
Since 2010 when the plant in Wexford set out to become carbon neutral, a number of adjustments have been made to achieve carbon neutrality. 

“In Wexford, we have successfully decoupled our production site’s CO2 emissions and the productivity of the plant, which ultimately resulted in carbon neutral status in accordance with the PAS 2060 international standard and was certified by the Carbon Trust,” explains Kennedy.

Sourcing 100 percent renewable electricity and replacing its heavy fossil fuel oil usage with a wood-burning biomass boiler, Danone Wexford has substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions and to make the transition toward low-carbon operations. This state-of-the-art biomass facility uses sustainably managed virgin woodchip from local forestry in the vicinity of the factory in Wexford. 

“This means embracing the carbon cycle of biomass and not emitting additional carbon in the atmosphere compared to fossil fuels, in addition to delivering a positive economic impact in Wexford County,” he adds.

Pictured left to right are Anthony Bail and Graham Kelly, Production Operators at Danone’s Wexford facility.The plant sources 100 percent renewable electricity and uses a biomass boiler powered by sustainable wood fuels. This has resulted in 10,000 metric tons of CO2 savings compared to the plant’s emissions in 2010, representing a 70 percent reduction in its direct carbon footprint, while doubling its production volumes since then. Since the end of 2019 the plant’s remaining direct carbon emissions have been fully offset with Gold Standard certificates.

Danone Wexford is also a zero waste-to-landfill production site. This means all waste generated at the site is recovered. The company not only focalizes the reduction of waste generated in production, but also waste produced by its suppliers. Following this, it then aims to ensure that all waste materials are properly separated into relevant recovery streams. 

“More than 30 percent [of recovered waste] is packaging that is sent for recycling in the paper and plastic industries. Also, organic sludge from the plant’s process water treatment is used as soil fertilizer with local farms,” states Kennedy.

Lastly, 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. 

Looking ahead
In 2015, Danone committed to zero net carbon emissions across its full value-chain by 2050 and set intermediate greenhouse gas reduction targets to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emission intensity by 50 percent for 2030. In September 2019, Danone joined 86 other global companies in signing the Global Compact’s Business Ambition for the 1.5°C pledge.

“The company has reached the peak of its full scope carbon emissions, five years ahead of its original plan and commitment and one year prior to the 1.5°C Science-Based Targets commitment,” says Kennedy. Among Danone’s sustainability goals is the ambition to become a Certified B Corp globally, using “business as a force for good. 

By Missy Green