Danone’s infant formula brand Karicare has achieved carbon neutral certification for its Karicare Gold Plus+ Organic and Karicare Gold Plus+ A2 Protein Milk product ranges.
The certification is provided by the Carbon Trust, an independent certifying body, against the globally recognised PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality.
The products are the first two to be certified as part of the company’s ambition for the entire Karicare portfolio to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Danone has recently completed a range of actions at its spray-drying facility in Balclutha, where the base powder for products is produced.
Part of the company’s global RE-Fuel energy excellence programme to transition to resilient and renewable sources of energy, the actions include switching to 100% renewable electricity and investing in a new biomass boiler.
“At Danone, our core belief is that the health of the planet and the health of people are interconnected,” Danone Oceania managing director Rodrigo Lima said.
“As a company exclusively focused on healthy food categories, it is imperative that we take real action to protect our environment and the Earth’s ability to sustain a growing global population.
“Importantly, we know that our customers and consumers are increasingly expecting us to take these kinds of meaningful actions. With two of our Danone Karicare product ranges now certified carbon neutral, we can provide consumers with a more sustainable choice in the milk formula category that has not been available before today in Australia and New Zealand.”
Danone’s Karicare carbon neutral journey has been greatly aided by its production in NZ, whose dairying is regarded as having the lowest carbon footprint of any major dairying nation.
The company is also investing in regenerative agriculture research in NZ with partners Synlait and AgResearch.
The five-year study commenced in 2021 and will compare soil health on farms deploying a range of regenerative agriculture practices with farms using conventional practices.
All farms will have their two-paddock comparison of conventional versus regenerative practices.
This will have a focus on diverse pastures and reduced nitrogen fertiliser applications with the aim of applying one-third of the regional averages (synthetic nitrogen fertilizer per hectare) by year three of the project.
“Regenerative agriculture is an important topic for New Zealand,” Danone’s New Zealand operations director Steve Donnelly said.
“Not only is there potential for the soil to be more productive and provide better economic returns to farmers, but for its ability to sequester carbon to improve. If we can improve our soil’s ability to absorb carbon by only a few percentage points, the positive environmental impact for New Zealand would be tremendous.”
