• Danone targets a 30% absolute reduction in methane emissions from fresh milk used in its dairy products, the first food company to align targets with the Global Methane Pledge
• To accelerate its efforts, Danone launches a new partnership with Environmental Defense Fund

Danone, a leading food company and one of the world’s largest dairy companies, announces a global action plan to reduce absolute methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030. Danone expects to remove 1.2 million tons carbon dioxide equivalent of methane emissions by 2030. This ambitious plan builds on the progress Danone has been making in recent years, already reducing its methane emissions by c. 14% between 2018 to 2020.

A reduction in methane emissions will have immediate benefits for the climate that reductions in carbon dioxide cannot achieve on their own, according to the IPCC. Dairy production from cattle makes up an estimated 8% of total human-caused methane emissions, as part of agriculture and livestock activities which represent approximately 40% of global methane emissions.

See related article: LanzaTech, with the support of Danone, Discovers Method to Produce Sustainable PET Bottles from Captured Carbon

As a leader of the dairy category, Danone is determined to play its role to reduce methane emissions, focusing on:

• working with farmers to implement regenerative dairy practices and develop innovative solutions;
• collaborating and partnering with peers, governments and Environmental Defense Fund to scale innovation, reporting and advance financing models;
• advocating and engaging with governments to improve methane policies, data and reporting as well as funding for research and to support farmers transitioning to regenerative dairy practices.

With today’s announcement, Danone is the first food company to set a methane reduction target and align with the ambition of the Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26. The company will report on its methane emissions, as part of its extra financial disclosure.