Fonterra ‘on track’ to meeting climate change, coal targets

Last month, the cooperative turned off the coal boiler at its Waitoa site, marking a significant milestone in achieving its emissions reduction targets outlined in its Climate Roadmap released in November 2023.

Fonterra director of sustainability Charlotte Rutherford says the Climate Roadmap is central to guiding Fonterra’s journey toward achieving its near-term climate targets and ambition to be net zero by 2050.

“We’ve made a great start. While progress may not be linear, we are on track to meet these targets. I’m particularly proud of the work the team has done to achieve SBTi validation, the progress in providing tools and services for farmers, and the efforts of decarbonising our manufacturing sites,” says Rutherford.

“While it may be one year on from the release of our Roadmap, we have been focused on reducing our emissions, particularly from our manufacturing and operations, for some time now and being free of coal in our North Island manufacturing is something the team should be proud of.”

This year alone, three renewable energy projects at Edendale, Hautapu, and Clandeboye have reduced emissions by a total of 62,500 tonnes, equivalent to taking 27,750 cars off the road.

Rutherford says just as important has been the work over the past year to lay the foundations to support farmers in reducing their emissions.

“Reducing emissions through driving greater on-farm efficiencies is also a priority for the co-op. Our approach is about empowering farmers with tools, insights and support to make meaningful changes.

“Over the past 12 months our farmer facing teams have been working on a range of tools and services for farmers, including targeted conversations to understand what the future may look like, and mapping tools that will help identify woody vegetation for carbon sequestration.

“As we move closer to 2030 we will begin to see the impact of these tools and services in the results. We know there’s more work to be done, and right across the value chain we continue to invest in innovative technologies and solutions that will set us up for success.”

Helping Farmers

• Validation of the co-op's near term targets by Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTI).
• 93% of Fonterra New Zealand farms now have Farm Environment Plans, up from 85% 12 months ago.
• Continued investment in AgriZeroNZ who have committed $34 million to emissions reduction technologies and R&D including Ruminant BioTech's methane inhibitor, BioLumic's UV seed treatment, ArkeaBio's methane vaccine and Hoofprint Biome's gut health supplements.
• In an industry first, the co-op launched the NZMP Carbon Footprinter emissions calculator in February, helping customers understand the average emissions of major New Zealand-sourced NZMP products, including the emissions from shipping to key destinations around the world. Since launch, there have been 4000 users of the tool.