Following the announcement Arla Foods said it now joins 27 food and beverage companies globally who have adopted science-based climate change targets.
A science-based greenhouse gas reduction target is in line with keeping the global temperature increase below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, and thereby avoiding severe climate change consequences.
“In Arla, we have worked towards sustainable production for years. CO2 per kilo of Arla milk is already about half the global average, but our ambitions are even higher,” Kristian Østerling Eriknauer, vice president of corporate social responsibility in Arla Foods, said.
“That our target has been recognized by the Science Based Targets initiative underlines our eagerness and willingness to contribute to tackling climate change and to remain a key actor for a lower carbon economy. Arla will continue to chase our ambitions and targets, as we strive towards carbon net zero in 2050.”
The target covers the whole value chain from cow to consumer and addresses climate, air, water and nature.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments.
The initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.