GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  May 25, 2021

Organic Valley Assessment Finds Strong Impact on Dairy Emissions Reduction

Organic Valley dairy farms were found to have a smaller carbon footprint than the average U.S. dairy farm in a new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The assessment was conducted as phase one of Organic Valley’s dairy life cycle assessment (LCA). Carbon sequestration from pastures and forage and crop production contributed significantly to this emissions assessment, reducing the emissions of the cooperative’s dairy farms by an average of 15%.

"Our LCA provides evidence of our lower-than-average farm carbon footprint. Our company-owned facilities are powered with 100% renewable electricity, and we're continually exploring ways to reduce the business's impact further," Nicole Rakobitsch, director of sustainability at Organic Valley, said in a statement. "Together, our farms, our business, and our supply chain will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon."

Organic Valley is now targeting a carbon-neutral supply chain by 2050 and set interim milestones of being 15% of the way to carbon neutral by 2030 and 30% by 2035.

The full LCA will be completed in 2022 and Organic Valley will publish the overall impact of its cooperative at that point. Already, the cooperative’s farms have been found to engage in 50% more pasture grazing than that required by the National Organic Program.

Organic Valley plans to achieve its carbon neutrality targets through the reduction of emissions and maximizing carbon sequestration on its farms, rather than through the purpose of carbon offsets.

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