Lakeland Dairies have embarked on a sustainability journey along with our farmer milk suppliers. This partnership allows us to work together for a common goal. It also means that we can manage our environmental performance, protect our environmental heritage and ensure long term sustainability across the full breadth of our business.
Our sites operate Environmental Management Systems to ISO 14001:2015 Certification. This helps us to achieve continual improvement in waste water management, water usage, emissions to atmosphere, energy reduction and the reduction, re-use and recycling of waste. We adhere to the highest regulatory standards and requirements including those governing Emissions and Integrated Pollution Control.
We are a member of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme which enables us to manage our carbon responsibilities. Carbon footprint is monitored, evaluated and recorded across our business. We are a highly energy efficient organisation, using renewable energies and operating Combined Heat and Power Plants. Through energy-efficiency, we’ve already achieved primary energy savings of 12.5%.
We are committed to protecting the biodiversity of our sites and the surrounding communities. We are developing the first phase of our Sustainability Plan in conjunction with Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme for our Bailieborough site, with the goal of implementing a further Sustainability Plan across all our sites year on year.
At Lakeland Dairies, we’re completely invested in developing a sustainability plan that incorporates every part of our business – our farmers, our sites, our environment and our local communities.
We partner with organisations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to drive our sustainability programme forward. This includes:
The scheme assesses farmer’s milk production processes, ensuring that they meet the highest Bord Bia standards. It also assesses and records sustainability data to highlight sustainability improvements at individual farm level, giving peace of mind to our customers that our milk has been produced under stringent Sustainability and Quality Assurance criteria.
Dairy Sustainability Ireland is a collaborative project with Bord Bia, the Department of Agriculture and a number of Ireland’s leading dairy processors. This initiative helps farmers meet environmental targets, improve profitability and reinforces Ireland’s reputation as a world leader in grass-fed dairy production. It also represents the world’s first ‘whole of sector/whole of government’ approach to addressing the challenges faced within the dairy industry.
We’ve been a member of the Bord Bia Origin Green Programme since 2013. As a member of the programme, we have signed up to the Origin Green Charter. This Charter maps out clear objectives across three key areas: raw material sourcing, manufacturing processes and social sustainability. We have embarked on a robust five-year plan committing to sustainability improvements across our business. These plans are independently verified and are monitored on an annual basis.
We are part of the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme, the UK’s largest farm and food standards scheme. It’s the standard-bearer for guaranteeing the highest standards of food production and also a prerequisite to supply many purchasers of consumer food products.
We’re currently rolling out the Red Tractor Scheme across all of our suppliers in Northern Ireland. We have our own Red Tractor team that supports the farmers with all aspects of the scheme from food safety to animal welfare, environmental protection, traceability and sustainability.
These programmes offer a range of supports for our farmers including delivered through farm walks, workshops and farm visits. A range of topics are covered in the programme including:
At Lakeland Dairies Food Ingredients, we're always open to new ideas and new relationships. We'd love to learn more about your business and find out how our bespoke Irish dairy ingredients can optimise your offering.
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