Our Environmental Pillar
At Danone, we foster the ambition to be net zero by 2050. To achieve this, we are adopting regenerative agriculture methods: to regenerate our soils, increase biodiversity, improve water quality and security, and to future-proof the livelihoods of our farmers and farm workers, and our food system.
Together with WWF France, technicians, farmers, and a diverse group of environmental and agricultural experts, we created the Danone Environment Scorecard and Danone Environment Handbook, to help define regenerative practices for soil, biodiversity and water for: beginner, advanced and best-in-class practitioners. These resources and recommended practices have already been rolled out to more than 1000 farms, covering dairy, fruits, veg, cereals, and more. This work will contribute to the newly led industry wide initiative from Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI).
To learn more, read our Danone Environment Handbook, Climate Policy, 2020 Water Policy and Danone Groundwater Resources Protection Policy.
Environmental Pillar Focus Areas
Soil
Healthy soil is paramount to healthy plants, animals, people and planet. Unhealthy soil results in soil erosion, water run-off and nutrient and biodiversity loss. Promoting healthy soil improves: organic matter and biodiversity levels, better water and nutrient holding capability, better food quality, increased pest and weather resilience, and increased carbon sequestration.
To improve soil health, it is crucial to:
- Limit physical or chemical disturbance of the soil, by implementing little or no till practices and by not using synthetic pesticides, fertilisers or fungicides;
- Protect the soil surface, through growing cover crops;
- Increase biodiversity, through integrating multiple crop, plant and animal species.
Biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity is equally essential to preserving and maintaining healthy ecosystems. Respecting the biological balance and ensuring there is an abundance of species helps to foster and preserve biodiversity and support the creation of healthy soils. To regenerate biodiversity, farmers can avoid monocropping, reintroduce wild areas (such as permanent meadows, hedges, woodlands and isolated trees, uncultivated field margins, wetlands, etc.) where nature – in particular local species – can thrive.
Water
Fresh water is essential to life and is one of the unreplaceable resource needed in agriculture. 70% of all freshwater resources are used by agriculture, and water scarcity is a global challenge that is becoming more and more difficult, especially in certain regions of the world where water stress has become a pressing issue. If not managed properly, fresh water can be vastly wasted, leading to higher costs and even more scarcity of this crucial resource.
Manure
Manure management refers to capture, storage, treatment, and utilization of animal manures in an environmentally sustainable manner. It can be retained in various holding facilities. Animal manure can be in a liquid, slurry, or solid form. The management of manure can lead to its use as organic fertiliser and can therefore eliminate the need for chemical fertiliser. This has a very positive impact on the soil and also reduces expenses related to the purchase of fertiliser.
Read about our Water Policy and our Forest Policy
