Environmental First for Dale Farm
Dale Farm has become the first Northern Ireland food manufacturing company to sign up to Courtauld Commitment 2 – a UK-wide retail industry agreement to reduce the environmental impact of the grocery sector.
The announcement makes Dale Farm the 32nd company in the UK to sign up to Courtauld Commitment 2, joining many of the biggest grocery retailers and brands.
Mike Mullan, Dale Farm HR and Business Improvement Director, said:
“Dale Farm has a strong commitment to be the best in the dairy industry and in recent years the company has made considerable investments in time and money to reduce its environmental footprint and improve its sustainability. We are now taking our commitment to a new level by signing up to the Courtauld Commitment.
“As a signatory of Courtauld Commitment 2 we have undertaken to work with WRAP, which helps businesses and individuals to reap the benefits of reducing waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way. Courtauld 2 aims to reduce the carbon impact of grocery packaging by 10%; product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by 5%; and household food and drink wastes by 4% by 2012.
“All three of Dale Farm’s Northern Ireland manufacturing sites are accredited to the leading ISO 14001 environmental standard and in the past 12 months we have reduced our energy related carbon by a further 12%, following a reduction of 10% in the previous year.”
Iain Garner, WRAP Manager for Northern Ireland, said:
“We are pleased that Dale Farm has become the first Northern Ireland food manufacturer to become a signatory of Courtauld Commitment 2.
“One of the biggest challenges society faces over the next decade is reducing the environmental impact of the things we buy. It’s no longer enough to look at the impact of packaging alone – that’s why the Courtauld Commitment 2 takes into account the environmental impact of product waste in the supply chain as well as at household level.
“We hope that more companies will soon follow the Dale Farm example.”
Environment Minister Edwin Poots said:
“I am delighted to note Dale Farm has become the first Northern Ireland manufacturer to sign up to the Courtauld Commitment 2. I fully support Courtauld 2 which will contribute to the delivery of my Department’s Waste Strategy through minimising waste packaging and increasing the potential for recycling.
“The new agreement, which builds on the achievements of the first, contains innovative and stretching targets based on clear environmental goals. Meeting these targets should also result in the welcome potential for cost savings on the part of signatories through improvements in resource efficiency – something which is vitally important in these times of economic difficulty.
“I welcome this opportunity to encourage businesses in the food retail and manufacturing sectors operating in Northern Ireland to follow Dale Farm’s lead and sign up to the Commitment in order to reduce the environmental impact of the products we buy."
Toasting Dale Farm on becoming the first Northern Ireland food manufacturing company to sign up to Courtauld Commitment 2 are Environment Minister, Edwin Poots, (second left), Dale Farm Group Chief Executive David Dobbin (third left), Ian Garner, the manager of WRAP Northern Ireland (right) and Mike Mullan, the Dale Farm HR and Business Improvement Director. Courtauld Commitment 2 is a UK-wide retail industry agreement to reduce the environmental impact of the grocery sector.
