The target, that will focus on its facilities and energy, has been made under Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) ensuring emissions reduction is verified and documented against a scientific baseline.
The commitment comes in the wake of COP25 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid where political, business and NGO leaders sought to coordinate a collective response to global warming.
In May 2019 Dunbia’s parent company Dawn Meats Group signed up to the SBTi becoming the first European beef and lamb processor to make such a commitment. In collaboration with the Carbon Trust, the Group has developed a pathway for its Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is working on solutions for Scope 3 emissions, with 2030 targets now validated and approved by SBTi.
Dawn Meats Group has committed to a 30% reduction in absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2030 from a 2016 base year. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources and Scope 2 are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Significant progress has already been made in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction in the period up to 2016, through the installation of heat recovery systems, district heating systems and the use of wind and solar powered renewable energy. This work will accelerate in the years to 2030 as technologies improve and the rollout program is completed across the enlarged group.
Dawn Meats Group has further committed to reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions of its purchased goods and services by 28% per tonne of finished product by 2030 from a 2016 base year. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the economy, both upstream and downstream, and are from sources which are not owned or controlled by the target setting company. In the case of beef and lamb processing, livestock and meat products constitute the largest share of Scope 3 emissions and therefore present the greatest opportunity to demonstrate improvement over the next 10 years.
Dunbia CEO Niall Browne said: “We have been working for more than 10 years to reduce emissions internally and more widely across our supply chain and we recognise the urgency to adopt even more aggressive measures to reduce emissions. We are working with stakeholders in collaborative projects to accelerate progress in this critical area. Achieving reductions of up to 30% in our greenhouse gas emissions poses a considerable challenge, but it is vital that Dawn accelerates the rate of change in the environmental footprint of its business.”
Group head of CSR & sustainability Gill Higgins added: “Dawn Meats Group recognises that any sustainable targets and solutions to global warming must be grounded in science. The approval of our targets by SBTi is a significant first step towards a smaller emissions footprint and we will continue to stretch our ambition in the years to come.”
Global Meat News will be hosting a webinar on sustainability within the meat industry on 3 March 2020. For commercial opportunities associated with this webinar, contact Aline Henderson on aline.henderson@wrbm.com.