Sustainability & Environment

From the northern lakelands, through lush green meadows, over the hillsides and onwards to the rugged coastline of Ireland, Lakeland Dairies and its milk producers operate in one of the world’s most beautiful and unspoiled natural environments. 

In our pursuit of operational excellence, we recognise that the management of our environmental footprint is critical to the long term sustainability and future success of our business.

Lakeland Dairies works with our farmer milk suppliers to promote environmental protection and performance in terms of water usage, energy usage and waste management on their farms. Audits are also carried out to monitor environmental performance at farm level. This is supported through the framework of the Irish Food Board, Bord Bia’s ‘Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme’ and other programmes which drive continual improvement.

Manufacturing Sites operate Environmental Management Systems to ISO 14001:2015 Certification. These systems and practices are used to achieve continual improvement in waste water management, water usage, emissions to atmosphere, energy reduction and in the reduction, re-use and recycling of waste. 

All plants adhere to the highest regulatory standards and requirements including those governing Emissions and Integrated Pollution Control.

Lakeland Dairies is a member of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme which we use to manage our carbon responsibilities. Carbon footprint is monitored, evaluated and recorded throughout the organisation.  We are a highly energy efficient organisation including the use of renewable energies and Combined Heat and Power Plants.

Lakeland Dairies is hugely proactive managing and reducing packaging waste. We are an award winning member of the recycling organisation Repak and are fully compliant with all regulations concerning waste management and recycling.

Lakeland Dairies engages with local communities around environmental initiatives including the ‘Tidy Towns Awards’ and supports initiatives to improve environmental awareness, particularly among local schoolchildren. 

It is our absolute policy to manage our environmental performance, to protect our environmental heritage and to ensure the long term sustainability of our business today, tomorrow and long into the future.

Lakeland Dairies are verified members of the Bord Bia Origin Green Scheme. Having signed up to the Origin Green Charter, Lakeland Dairies has agreed clear objectives across three key areas: Raw Material Sourcing, Manufacturing Processes and Social Sustainability. Together with Bord Bia we have created a comprehensive and challenging five-year plan committing to sustainability improvements that are relevant to the business. These plans are independently verified and are monitored on an annual basis.