How Fonterra is lowering emissions

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While it's great news that New Zealand dairy is the most emissions efficient in the world, it doesn't mean we can't do better, Fonterra Chief Operating Officer Fraser Whineray says.

With that in mind, Fonterra has teamed up with Royal DSM to look into feed supplements for cows, Whineray told The Country Sport Breakfast's Brian Kelly.

"[The supplements] use a product called Bovaer and that can help reduce the methane emissions from the cows by up to 30 per cent," Whineray said.

It wasn't only science helping keep emissions at bay, the co-op's farmers were also doing their bit, Whineray said.

"Our Fonterra suppliers [are] working on the Farm Environmental Plans which are past 40 per cent now and that roll out will be completed by 2025."

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"Those customised plans give farmers the ability to get individual greenhouse gas and nitrogen statements every year."

"That helps them know where they rank or how they're going on their greenhouse gas and nitrogen emissions and what the next best move is to improve."

Fonterra was also working hard to reduce its environmental footprint at its manufacturing sites, Whineray said.

"There's quite a lot going on there and that's part of our triple bottom line in the co-operative of healthy business, healthy environment, healthy people."

Key goals were a target of zero solid waste to landfill by 2025 and a 2026 target of 100 per cent of manufacturing sites treating wastewater to leading industry standards.

Fonterra aimed to reduce its global manufacturing emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, and the longer-term goal was net zero emissions by 2050.

An example of this was the co-op's Te Awamutu site switching to wood pellets to reduce coal use by almost 10 per cent.

"The Te Awamutu investment was very significant ... taking more than 84,000 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere each year," Whineray said.

The next site Fonterra was looking to decarbonise was Stirling in Otago, Whineray said.