Lactalis Ingredients releases 2021 CSR report

Lactalis Ingredients publishes its Corporate Social Responsibility report. In its sustainability report, the company reports on its progress in key areas such as the environment, nutrition, and the health and development of its employees. This report documents how the company has progressed its responsible practices during the year 2021. 

Main advances and perspectives of Lactalis Ingredients’ CSR approach

With regard to the preservation of the environment, Lactalis Ingredients has achieved the objectives the company had set for itself by 2025 for the reduction of its water consumption (-5%) and its greenhouse gas emissions on scope 1 (-10%), and has therefore set new objectives. In particular, the company is committed to certifying all its factories ISO 14001 by the end of 2024 and is contributing to the Group’s greenhouse gas reduction objectives through various energy transition projects:

• In partnership with Séché Environnement, a specialist in industrial and household waste management, the Société Laitière de Retiers is working to replace its natural gas boiler with a SCR (solid recovered fuel) boiler. This project will reduce the site’s greenhouse gas emissions by 60% (base year 2019).
• The contract signed between Villarrobledo and Iberdrola in January 2021 provides for the installation of an area of photovoltaic panels, which will provide 20% of the site’s energy consumption. In addition, a membrane concentration plant was implemented in 2022. This modification will allow the gas consumption of the drying plant to be divided by three.
• The Walhorn plant, in partnership with ENERSOL, is installing photovoltaic panels on part of its roofs to produce 5% of the site’s electricity consumption.

In terms of food safety, 93% of factories are now FSSC 22000 certified. 100% will be certified by 2025. As part of the promotion of better nutrition for all, Lactalis Ingredients is launching a campaign in 2022-2023 to analyse the nutritional values of all its products. It is intended to meet the end consumer’s demand for transparency through better customer information.

On the subject of responsibility for its employees, aware of its room for improvement in terms of safety, Lactalis Ingredients has set itself the objective of halving the frequency rate of accidents at work by 2024. Achieving this objective requires a very strong commitment from the management committee, which is involved in defining and monitoring the safety approach.

An approach in line with the Lactalis Group’s CSR strategy

Lactalis Ingredients’ CSR approach is consistent with the Group’s strategy. In 2020, the Group initiated the formalisation of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach by inviting all its internal and external stakeholders (employees, business experts, executive committee, NGOs, universities, customers, public institutions, etc.) to identify its immediate priorities. Following this work, Lactalis launched its policies and commitments on three identified priorities: Climate, Packaging and Animal Welfare.

Regarding the climate, Lactalis engages towards Carbon Net Zero by 2050 and has committed to setting science-based emissions reduction targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (sBTi). Two intermediate stages will enable the company to reduce its direct greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% in 2025, and 50% for the group’s centenary in 2033. Lactalis Ingredients is contributing to the achievement of these objectives through several energy transition projects.

Finally, Lactalis is developing a process of continuous improvement to support its partner farmers in terms of animal welfare. By 2023, all of its dairy technicians will be trained in best practices in order to advise farmers, and by 2025, 100% of the direct volumes of milk collected will be subject to an on-farm animal welfare assessment. In addition, certain practices, such as routine dehorning, will be progressively eliminated.

To learn more about our approach and initiatives, please visit  “Our Commitments“ page on our website. There you will find a complete version of the report for download.