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Our journey towards Net-Zero

Driving climate action

The climate crisis highlights the urgency of transforming food systems to address interconnected challenges like biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and the well-being of communities. These challenges also offer opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and adaptation. For years, we have advanced sustainable practices and aligned with a health-focused portfolio, understanding that food systems must evolve to be more inclusive and regenerative. By fostering systemic change and supporting resilient ecosystems, we aim to contribute to a low-carbon future that balances environmental health, societal needs, and long-term food security.

Transforming food systems for climate action and resilience

Food systems contribute around one third of global greenhouse gas emissions and are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their reliance on natural resources. Transforming food production is crucial not only to address the climate crisis and limit warming to 1.5°C* but also to prevent food insecurity.

At Danone, we are already taking action, from adopting regenerative agricultural practices to reducing emissions across our entire supply chain. These initiatives support our goal to achieve Net-Zero** emissions by 2050, while helping our partners and farmers adapt to the challenges climate change will bring, and building a more resilient food system.

* The 1.5°C goal aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  this threshold could result in significantly more severe and irreversible climate impacts.

** Net-Zero refers to achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and the amount removed, with residual emissions reduced as close to zero as possible.

Measuring our greenhouse gas emissions footprint

We measure and report our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually across our entire value chain to monitor our climate impact. Accurate data is essential for tracking progress and setting future reduction targets, so we continuously work to improve data quality. Emissions are calculated using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology and verified by an independent third party under ISAE 3000 standards.

Understanding emissions across our supply chain

To better track and reduce our climate impact, emissions are categorized into three distinct scopes, in line with globally recognized standards from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol

  • SCOPE 1: Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, such as emissions from combustion in company-owned facilities and from company-owned vehicles.

  • SCOPE 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heat, or cooling consumed by the company.

  • SCOPE 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in the company’s value chain. This includes emissions from upstream and downstream activities, such as agriculture, transportation, and the distribution of purchased goods and services. Our main categories include milk, dairy ingredients, plant-based ingredients, packaging, logistics, and co-manufacturing.

  • What are FLAG emissions?

    Forest, Land, and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions are greenhouse gas emissions stemming from agriculture, land-use change, and land management. FLAG is also the name of a sector-specific framework by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), designed to help companies in these sectors measure and reduce their emissions. This framework focuses on critical areas like deforestation, soil health, and sustainable land use.

Committing to climate action: setting our reduction targets

Danone was one of the first 100 companies in 2015 to commit to achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. In 2017, our reduction targets aligned with a 2°C trajectory were approved.

We became one of the first consumer goods companies to have carbon reduction targets and FLAG emissions targets in 2022, aligned with a 1.5° C trajectory covering Scopes 1, 2, and 3. We published our Climate Transition Plan in 2023, and in 2024, our 2050 targets were officially approved by SBTi.

We’re committed to achieving the following reduction targets by 2030, compared with our 2020 baseline:

-46.3%

We’re committed to cutting Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 46.3%

-42%

We’re committed to reducing emissions from Scope 3 non-FLAG (Packaging, Logistics, and Co-manufacturing) by 42%

-30.3%

We’re also aiming to cut Scope 3 FLAG (Forest, Land, and Agriculture emissions such as those from milk, dairy ingredients, and plant-based ingredients) by 30.3%

Eight programs for tackling emissions

Cutting emissions across our value chain

We’ve launched eight key programs to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain. These include improving energy efficiency and switching to renewable energy in our operations, helping farmers adopt sustainable practices that reduce emissions, responsibly sourcing ingredients with a focus on deforestation-free supply chains, and transitioning to fully recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging.

We’re also reducing emissions in transportation and warehousing, partnering with co-manufacturers to lower their emissions, and driving innovation to create low-carbon products.

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Direct operations

Energy use in our direct operations makes up about 5% of our carbon footprint, an area where we’ve made substantial progress. Re-Fuel, our global energy efficiency and decarbonization program, leverages digital innovation, operational excellence, and partnerships to drive change. We aim for 100% renewable electricity and a -46% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030.

-95%

At our Balclutha site in New Zealand, a biomass boiler sourced with local sustainable forestry waste reduced emissions by 95%

Addressing residual emissions

By 2050, even after significant emissions reductions, Danone expects to have residual emissions linked to its activities. To achieve Net-Zero, we plan to permanently remove an equivalent volume of carbon from the atmosphere and store it. Carbon removal projects, unlike carbon avoidance, focus on capturing CO2e through initiatives such as ecosystem restoration and carbon capture technologies. These efforts will be developed in-house or through trusted partnerships, such as our long-standing involvement with the Livelihoods Funds, of which we’ve been a founding partner since 2011. With these initiatives, we aim to neutralize around 4.5 MtCO2e per year by 2050.

Advocating in support of global climate action

Danone is committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement by engaging with governments, NGOs, businesses, and consumers. We advocate for bold climate policies, including carbon pricing, regenerative agriculture, and transparency through initiatives like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Our advocacy aligns with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5° C, partnering with leading organizations such as World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. As a B Corp, we strive for sustainability in the food industry, promoting science-based Net-Zero targets and driving transformation across global supply chains.

Climate Transition Plan

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Methane Action Plan 2025

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