WHAT IS NET ZERO?
Net zero will be reached when the volume of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere is the same as the volume of greenhouse gases that are taken away. It’s about balance. Achieving this balance means drastically reducing the volume of emissions that are produced in the first place, and then removing the remainder through carbon sequestration methods, such as planting trees and preserving nature.
- Scope 1 is emissions which come directly from our business
- Scope 2 is emissions from the electricity we use
- Scope 3 is emissions which come from our supply chain, such as emissions created by our supplying dairy farms and in the manufacturing of packaging, right through to the transportation of our products and their eventual disposal.
We will reduce all of our emissions by setting Science-Based Targets and then developing action plans for each target, aligned with the latest climate science.
OUR APPROACH
We know we can’t manage what we don’t measure, so we’ve mapped our carbon footprint across our own operations and throughout our supply chain so we thoroughly understand our emissions. This has helped us to identify carbon hotspots for action, and we’re building plans to tackle these.
We’re already making progress. All our dairies have energy and carbon management systems in place to help us further identify ways to reduce our use of gas, electricity and water.
However we know there’s still a lot to be done. Everyone at Müller has a part to play in reaching our goals, so
we’re empowering our people to contribute their valuable insights and ideas in different ways. For example, we’ve embedded Müller Excellence environmental roadmaps across all our sites, so that reducing emissions is a top priority for all of our teams.
We’ve also developed our ‘What If’ initiative, which encourages those within the business to put forward improvement suggestions. The suggestions which are put into practice are then nominated for company-wide recognition.
We must meet the needs of the markets we serve, and we can only realise our environmental ambitions by working together.
SUSTAINABLE DISTRIBUTION
In the Müller Milk and Ingredients Distribution team we’ve been hard at work to reduce energy and fuel usage across our fleet. This includes investing in higher capacity tankers and ‘high-efficiency trailers’ to increase the amount we can transport in a single journey - this means we do over 150 fewer journeys each month. In 2022 we removed over 6000 journeys which saved up to 1m litres of fuel - over 3.5m kgs of carbon. We also monitor our drivers’ driving styles and miles per gallon to improve performance and reduce emissions even further.
OUR PROGRESS
We’ve already reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% (vs a 2015 baseline)
We have committed to setting Science-Based Targets and pathway by 2024
The electricity we purchase from the grid to run our manufacturing operations is 100% renewable
We’ve invested in combined heat and power (CHP) technology across a number of our dairies. This allows us to improve our energy efficiency by recovering the heat generated through on site electricity generation, and then re-using it within our production processes
SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS
To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement – to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees – greenhouse gas emissions need to be halved by 2030 and drop to net zero by 2050. Science-Based Targets give companies a clearly-defined and grounded in climate science path, to reduce emissions in line with this ambition.
We’re aiming for net zero at Müller UK & Ireland by at least 2050, and we’ve committed to group-wide Science-Based Targets to get us there. By focusing on our Sustainability Action Plan and working closely with our farmers and suppliers, we’re working hard to deliver the changes that are needed.
