Plant-based
The report says Arla has not declared a non-material reduction target2 Methane-containing emissions do not publish detailed reports on methane.
This despite the company declared in its 2023 annual report that “methane emissions are a major challenge for the dairy industry,” saying methane accounts for 43% of total emissions from ARLA farms.
Among them ‘I refuse the heat.” Greenpeace Nordic estimates that Arla’s methane emissions are estimated at 13.4 MTCO2E/yr. It exceeded reported agricultural methane emissions in the Netherlands (11.4 MTCO2E/YR).
Of the company’s reduction targets, scopes 1 and 2 are absolute, but scope 3 is only “emission strength.” The United Nations Standard of Integrity recommends that businesses report all important non-COs2 Emissions are separate and their non-state entities set absolute reduction targets.
The report finds that ARLA is taking limited measures to transform its production systems. According to calculations made by the UK market authors, its plant-based brand, Jord, accounts for just 0.3% of ARLA UK’s total revenue.
target
Also, compared to the overall UK plant-based market, the report shows that Arla’s Jörd market share is only 2.4%, while UK milk market share is between 20-27%.
Arla continues to place dairy at the core of its production, attributing the launch and expansion of its plant-based range to consumer demand, indicating a lack of commitment to fully converting its portfolio to deliver low-emission products.
The report discovers that reliance on technology solutions is key to ARLA’s climate planning. These include the use of feed additives (uncertain lifespan and scalability) and the production of biogas, previously known as “Climate Gold.”
The report estimates that if all fertilizers are used for biogas, the reduction in emissions from the production of biological gases from fertilizers has now reached 2.6% per kilometer, potentially a maximum reduction of 15%.
The company’s goal is to reduce its milk emissions per kilo by 30% by 2030, and this estimate ignores the challenges of deploying such large-scale biogas schemes, potential leaks and risks associated with further industrialization.
lobby
To reach that climate target, Arla will also promote the Farmahead Check Tool and the Farmahead Sustainability Incentive Initiative. They aim to provide farm-level carbon emission measurements and provide financial incentives to farmers to reduce emissions according to ARLA’s proprietary point-based system.
However, these initiatives have been heavily criticised, especially by small to medium-sized dairy farmers, claiming that the system is unfair and is directed at strengthening farmers.
The report finds that ARLA is adopting severe resources in governments, including the EU, to derail effective measures to transform climate law and food systems.
The report exposes the direct and indirect lobbying of dairy giants, including at least 24 direct interventions with the EU Commission since 2017, aimed at affecting key topics such as dairy sustainability, biomethane and nutritional labeling.
Prior to 2023, members of the European Parliament (MEPS) were not required to declare a lobby meeting unless they were with a rapporteur, shadow rapporteur, or committee chair.
Cooperatives
Reports say ARLA has successfully derailed the inclusion of agriculture in key sustainability proposals such as the methane strategy, blocking the inclusion of plant-based alternatives in milk in EU school plans.
Meanwhile, meeting the CMF’s acquired records and exchanges between ARLA and EU officials suggests that ARLA is considered a “poster child” of dairy sustainability in the EU corridors.
While Arla is proud to be formed and managed as a cooperative, this report provides several examples of how a company does not follow the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) that support sustainable and socially responsible practices of its businesses and organizations.
According to ARLA, its board of directors (BOD) is responsible for making important decisions about strategy, operations and asset management.
The report shows that the majority of cooperative members, the farmers, do not appear to have the opportunity to decide on pricing and resource allocation. The report also details how Arla’s challenging system does not equally benefit farmers in various regions.
Cooperatives should aim to allow members to be independent, Arla’s farm management programme, also known as Arlagården.
This author
Brendan Montague is an ecologist editor. This article is based on press releases from the Chindeding Markets Foundation and Greenpeace Nordic.
