 Background
In October 2006, Sainsbury's launched the Sainsbury's Dairy Development Group (SDDG) - which aimed to deliver greater profits to dairy farmers by working with them to innovate and improve their on farm efficiencies.
Sainsbury's has since announced that it is the first retailer to launch a unique scheme which will help dairy farmers measure their carbon footprint and aim to reduce greenhouse gases by up to 10%.
The scheme, which is the first carbon footprinting model in agriculture to be certified by the Carbon Trust will increase farm efficiency, and provide greater profits for hundreds of farmers. It is the most in-depth survey of dairy farmers' carbon usage ever to be undertaken and could act as a benchmark for the whole industry and help to guarantee the sustainability of the British dairy industry.
How the issue was tackled
White Gold, part of AB Agri, has completed individual audits on all 325 Sainsbury's Dairy Development Group (SDDG) farms.
The audit measured every aspect of the farms output including electricity, manure storage and machinery and fuel.
The audit will run for three years and recommendations will reduce emissions by an estimated 10% annually.
Areas where improvements could be made include better utilisation of manure and fertiliser to improve crop nutrition and feed efficiencies linked to yield and overall stocking rates.
Interestingly the audits which are compliant with the PAS 2050, revealed that some of the highest yielding farms were not necessarily the most carbon intensive.
Benefits and impacts
- Dairy farmers could reduce carbon emissions by up to 10 %
- First UK milk model to be certified by the Carbon Trust
Advice to others
Annie Graham, Sainsbury's agricultural manager said: "In April 2007 when we met the farmers for the first time our dairy farmers identified four key areas that could pose a threat, or where there were opportunities. One of these was the environment and we hope this new scheme helps address some of our farmers concerns. We decided to work with White Gold to develop an environmental scorecard model which measures the exact carbon footprint of each of the SDDG dairy farms and identifies where efficiencies can be made."
- Companies need to take a longer-term view in what can be sustainable
- Companies need to invest in sustainability
- Develop sustainable activities that do the right thing, rather than something that is just focused on PR.
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