Valio Food Solutions intends to become carbon-neutral dairy by 2035

Finnish dairy products manufacturer Valio Food Solutions has announced plans to become a carbon-neutral dairy by 2035 to produce sustainably made food.

The company also intends to use its raw materials to help food manufacturers compete in the market, as well as fight climate change.

Valio Food Solutions sales senior vice-president Timo Pajari said: “Our goal is to cut dairy’s carbon footprint to zero by 2035. It is a good example of our concrete sustainability actions.

“Instead of just compensating for emissions, we are making major changes in our production chain to bring the carbon footprint of dairy down to zero in the future. Our 2035 goal, carbon neutral dairy, means that the same amount of emissions is reduced and removed from the atmosphere as is generated on the farms, in transportation, at the plants, and in package manufacturing.”

Valio Food Solutions said that consumers and manufacturers want to know the source of ingredients of the food products they make and buy. As a result of this trend, traceability and transparency in procurement are important customer requirements in ingredients sales.

The company believes that an established, sustainable production chain will allow it to adapt to changing consumer behaviour in the food industry, as well as give it a competitive edge in the market.

Its other climate change prevention measures include using biogas to replace fossil fuels, plant-based packaging, and developing the new Carbo grass seed mix, which improves the carbon binding ability of grasslands. Valio is also working towards using cow manure for the production of biogas.

Pajari added: “All Valio farms are becoming carbon farms, as we organise carbon farming training for Valio’s dairy farmers. In 2019–2020, we will train at least 200 volunteer farms. All Valio farms will complete the training by 2035.”