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Finnish dairy cooperative Valio prides itself on producing the northernmost milk in the EU, and the company is synonymous with dairy production in the Nordic country.
Sourcing much of its dairy from farms above the Arctic Circle, the company puts forward an idyllic image of farming under the Northern Lights.
However, as well as being a top dairy producer, the company has proven itself to be one of Finland's most pioneering companies in terms of sustainability, as well as tapping into the booming free-from sector.
In recent months, the Finnish company has vowed to cut environmentally damaging feed, found innovative ways to reduce methane gas pollution and created an array of free-from products without compromising on taste.
Environmental Initiatives
One of the most prominent examples of the group's sustainability efforts was its recently-held ‘hackathon’, which featured seven teams seeking to develop an efficient way to combat methane pollution, which is reportedly 25 times as harmful to the environment as CO2.
The winning team produced a system whereby methane could be collected from the indoor air of dairy farms and re-used again on site.
Elsewhere, Valio also began incentivising its farmers to become more sustainable by giving them a one cent ‘responsibility bonus’.
To receive the bonus, dairy farmers have to adhere to a set of rules and register their herd with the centralised national cattle healthcare register, Navesa. One of the tenets for inclusion is the requirement to provide feed that is free of soy and GMO products.
These incentives add to the already strict regulations on the Finnish dairy industry, compared to international standards.
With over three quarters of its farms already qualified for the bonus, Valio said it would provide local training to ensure more farms are able to join its responsibility program.
Free-From Future
With an array of new plant-based milks snatching up patches of the dairy industry’s turf, Valio has had to reinvigorate its offering to come up with appealing products for free-from consumers.
It has developed a number of innovative products at its Helsinki R&D centre, including lactose-free ice cream, lactose-free milk and a range of low-sugar and low-salt cheeses and spreads.
The cooperative has said that it is committed to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development by pledging to double the number of its unflavoured, sugar-free and low-sugar snack products by 2020.
“Valio’s expertise in product development and technology is unique on the global level, and rests on more than a century of experience and know-how,” said senior vice president of research and technology Anu Kaukovirta-Norja. “For example, we are studying the potential for using new kinds of fermentation cultures and enzymes for enhancing flavour.”
Kaukovirta-Norja added that the company also plans to examine how it can "more effectively use the sugar contained in berries and fruit" and "how modern technologies can be used to create great taste at our new snack plant in Riihimäki, Southern Finland".
Green Packaging
Aside from product development, Valio has also gone above and beyond to make its packaging greener.
The company has introduced plant-based cartons for its dairy products, with all of its milk, buttermilk, yoghurt and cream products set to transfer to the format by year end. The gable-top cartons will reduce the carbon footprint of its products by 50%, according to the company.
It is initiatives like these that have earned Valio the title as one of Finland’s most-trusted companies, according to a survey by T-Media.
It may boast operations in one of the most far flung corners of Europe, but when it comes to sustainability and proactive innovation, Valio has proven itself to be on top of the world... in every sense of the word.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
