FRANCE – Danone, the Paris headquartered food company, has announced a €2 billion (US$2.21 billion) investment plan to accelerate climate action of its brands and strengthen the company’s growth model.
The dairy giant said that it plans to use the investment over the next three years to further transform its agriculture, energy and operations, packaging, and digital capabilities, of which approximately €900m will be used in packaging.
According to Emmanuel Faber: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Danone, the investments will additionally strengthen the company’s ‘One Planet.One Health’ vision enabling the food processor to leverage fully on its climate action to generate resilient growth models for its brands.
“This is backing my confidence in the relevance of our investment plan in the next three years and in both our short term guidance and mid term objectives as we are setting the company on a unique path of deep alignment between its vision and execution.” Faber said.
On that front, Faber revealed that Danone managed to reach the peak of its full scope carbon emissions last year, literally five years ahead of the company’s 2015 plan.
In addition, the company noted that its efforts on regenerative agriculture have already resulted in a 9% carbon productivity in its farmers’ fields over the last 2 years.
“This is critical to ensure the resilience of farms, sinking carbon in the soil, therefore reintroducing organic matter and fertility, and saving costs, pesticides, chemical intrants, and water at a critical climate juncture for agriculture.
“Yet, we are convinced that there is an urgent and significant opportunity to put climate actions even more at the core of our business model, truly joining people’s fight for climate and nature with the power of our brands,” Faber said.
As part of the climate action plan, the company has committed to making its packaging 100% rPET in Europe by 2025, starting with France, UK and Germany in 2020.
Danone is also seeking to explore innovations beyond plastic and beyond single-use: glass, metal and carton, home and new on-the-go models. Danone has further committed to use zero polystyrene worldwide by 2025, and in Europe by 2024.
As part of its journey towards carbon neutrality on its full value chain by 2050, Danone was recently recognized as a global environmental leader, becoming one of the 6 companies with ‘AAA’ score by CDP worldwide.
Danone’s strategy is based on reducing emissions, transforming agricultural practices to sequester more carbon in the soil, eliminating deforestation from its supply chain in key commodities, and offsetting the emissions that remain.
The company recently strengthened its commitments through the signature of “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” pledge, alongside 190 other institutions.
This represents a significant acceleration of the company’s GHG direct and indirect emission reduction targets, across its extended value chain.
