Danone has announced a NZ$40 million (€25 million) investment in its Nutricia spray drying facility in the Otago region of New Zealand, with which the group will seek to achieve carbon neutrality for the plant by 2021.
The investment will include the installation of a NZ$30 million (€17.5 million) biomass boiler that will reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 20,000 tonnes per year.
Commenting on the investment, Cyril Marniquet, Danone’s New Zealand operations director, said, “This significant investment, in what we expect to be New Zealand’s first carbon neutral plant of its kind, underscores Danone’s global ‘One Planet. One Health’ vision and the belief that the health of people and planet are interconnected."
The facility, in Balclutha, processes raw milk sourced from 18 local farms into powder, to use in the production of brands such as Aptamil and Karicare.
Veolia will be responsible for designing and managing the construction of the biomass boiler, Danone said.
Carbon-Neutral Target
The move forms part of Danone's target to be a fully-carbon neutral company by 2050, as well as a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. Between 2016 and 2018, the group reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 15.6% across its operations.
"At Danone, we’ve set ourselves an objective of becoming a carbon neutral company across our entire scope – from farm to family – by 2050," said Marniquet. "It is through key investments like this one that we take a step forward towards reaching this ambition.”
The investment in the plant also includes the installation of a new water treatment plant to more efficiently treat water waste.
Since acquiring the facility in 2014, Danone has invested NZ$150 million (€90 million) in doubling the production capacity of the plant. [Pic:©Moovstock/123RF.COM]
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
