Dunbia cuts C02 emissions

Publishing its second Group CSR report this week, it provided a progress update on its ambitious targets to reduce water and energy intensity by 40% and CO2 emission intensity by 50% by 2025.

As of the end of 2018, water intensity across the group had reduced by 23%, energy intensity by 18% and CO2 emissions by 33%, as part of its on-going ambition to become Europe’s most sustainable meat company.

Dunbia and the wider Dawn Meats Group has also signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a joint programme of the UN Global Compact, CDP, the World Resources Institute and WWF. Under the SBTi companies set emissions reduction targets in line with the level of decarbonisation required to meet the Paris Agreement commitment to limit global warming to an increase of 2°C above pre-industrial levels. It is the first European Beef and Lamb processor to publicly commit to SBTi and measure its progress on externally verified sustainability goals.

Since the company’s first CSR report was published in 2017, Dawn Meats Group has doubled in size following the strategic partnership and joint venture with Dunbia in the UK and the acquisition of the former Dunbia facilities in the Republic of Ireland. Sustainability targets now apply across the entire Group of over 7,000 staff, operating across locations in 12 countries.

Some of the key achievements outlined in the report are:

- Zero waste to landfill achieved ahead of schedule across the Group;

- 1,100 tonnes of plastic switched to recyclable mono materials in 2018;

- 4.5m litres of fuel saved under the company’s Eco Drive initiative;

- 430,000 megawatt hours (MWH) of low carbon energy generated.

Commenting on the report, CEO of Dawn Meats, Niall Browne said: “We have now demonstrated our strong commitment to environmental best practice through committing to the Science Based Targets initiative – the first European Beef and Lamb processor to do so. We are making excellent progress on our commitments to reductions in water and energy use, and CO2 intensity, which positions us well to meet our 2025 targets. The next phase will indeed be more challenging, and I thank the whole Dunbia and Dawn team for our achievements to date and reiterate our commitment to further improvement.”