Sustainability
A sustainable Co-operative is core to our strategy and creating value for future generations.
Our Sustainability Priorities
Healthy People
Caring for people and making a positive social impact.
- Providing high density of nutrients tailored to specific needs of communities for an efficient environmental footprint.
Read more.
- Providing positive employment for our people by promoting a healthy, safe and diverse workforce. Read more.
Healthy Environment
Working together to achieve a healthy environment for farming and society.
- A commitment to low carbon dairying. Read more.
- Improving the health and biodiversity of our land and waters by having a regenerative mindset.
- Continuing to improve productivity and minimising waste from farm to consumer. Read more.
Healthy Business
Delivering sustainable prosperity for our Fonterra farmers, partners and wider communities.
- Our farmer-owned co-operative supports the livelihoods of many thousands of people. Read more.
- Working with our partners globally to provide solutions to support sustainable businesses. Read more.
What is Fonterra doing?
COMMITMENTS
Fonterra has committed to a target of net zero emissions at our manufacturing site by 2050. We are making progress by:
- Delivered a 20% reduction in energy intensity at our manufacturing sites since 2003 - enough to power all the households in New Zealand for 1.5 years
- The conversion of the boiler at our Brightwater site to co-fire on wood biomass
- Switching to wood pellets at our Te Awamutu site, saving more than 84,000 tonnes of carbon emissions - the same as taking 32,000 cars off the road
tARGETS & Launches
- A target of zero waste to landfill with all packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025
- A target of 100% of manufacturing sites treating wastewater to leading industry standards by 2026
- Launched carbonzero organic butter
- Launched New Zealand's first plant-based milk bottles, made from sustainability sourced sugarcane
- Launching The Co-operative Difference - a straight-forward way of bringing together what farmers need to know for today, recognising farms who go above and beyond and providing on guidance on things to consider in future planning
ACTIONS
- Provided all Fonterra suppliers with farm specific GHG emissions profiles
- Investigating breakthrough technologies that could provide a significant reduction in biological emissions produced by cows
- More than 40% of Fonterra farmers have a tailored Farm Environment Plan, with all farmers to have one by 2025
- Fonterra farmers are required to uphold high standards of animal welfare and establish an Animal Health Plan approved by their vet
Fonterra is committed to Low-Carbon dairying
Tracy Brown is one of our Fonterra Farmers, committed to reducing her environmental impact.
Fonterra’s New Zealand on-farm carbon footprint is approximately 1/3 the global average.
Find out more about our sustainability commitments by downloading the Fonterra Sustainability Report
