Kerry Group launches €6 million dairy sustainability program

Left to right: Pat Murphy CEO Kerry Dairy; William Dennehy, Kerry Agribusiness demonstration farmer; Sibeal Bird, Sustainability Lead at Kerry; James O’Connell General Manager, Kerry Agribusiness; Diarmuid Cremin, Winner of Kerry Agribusiness Quality & Sustainability Awards. Image courtesy of Kerry Group.

Kerry Group (Tralee, Ireland) has launched a €6 million dairy sustainability program that will support the acceleration of science-backed sustainability actions and best practices across farms in Ireland. More than 3,000 farm families throughout the southwest of Ireland will benefit from the program by receiving technical and financial support to help them transition to more sustainable farming practices. These changes are expected to result in significant reductions in carbon and ammonia emissions, improvements in water quality and enhanced biodiversity. Kerry is already one of the world’s most carbon efficient dairy producers, and continues its commitment to provide leadership in reaching science-based climate targets while ensuring the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of farms.

“Consumers globally want to consume food in a more sustainable ways and it is important to examine how we can deliver dairy in a better way for people and the planet. Our Beyond the Horizon sustainability strategy sets out ambitious targets and our dairy business is committed to supporting our milk suppliers in the adoption of sustainable actions,” says Pat Murphy, CEO of Kerry’s Dairy Business, in a press release. “Our milk-suppliers are already amongst the most sustainable milk producers in the world and we will continue to work with them to build upon that advantage and accelerate the enhancement of bio-diversity and water-quality across our catchment and in reducing carbon and ammonia emissions. Our ambition is to reach over two billion people with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030. A central element of this strategy is a commitment to work with our suppliers to reduce emissions intensity by 30% across our supply chain. This dairy sustainability program underpins our ambition to work with our milk suppliers in achieving these targets and in forging a sustainable future.”