Bel pursues its commitment to fight global warming by joining the Science Based Targets initiative

The Bel Group on July 21, 2017 officially became a member of the international Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), joining forces with a community of 290 companies seeking to fight global warming. The SBTi membership is aimed at continuing efforts by the Group to lower the environmental impact of its activities.

The Science Based Targets initiative was launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) ahead of the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21). During the COP21, 195 countries committed to reducing their CO2 emissions to keep the global temperature increase under 2°C compared with pre-industrial temperatures. By joining the SBTi, companies commit to cutting their greenhouse gas emissions to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Bel will submit CO2-reduction targets to the SBTi committee of experts. The targets must be submitted and validated within two years.

Bel is proud to unite its efforts with those of the Paris Agreement signatory countries, as well as the companies that have joined the Science Based Targets initiative,” said Antoine Fiévet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bel Group. “The fight against global warming is today a priority to which we all must contribute.”

The Bel Group's longstanding commitment to encourage sustainable development

Bel’s membership in the Science Based Targets initiative is part of a longstanding environmental improvement effort. In 2003, the Group was one of the first French companies to become a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact.

That initiative has already seen convincing results. Since 2008, the Bel Group has lowered its CO2 emissions by 37.9% and cut its water usage by 32.6% per metric ton of cheese produced. Sixty percent of its production sites are now environmentally certified ISO 14001.

The Group has always employed environmentally friendly practices,” said Magali Sartre, Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Affairs Director of the Bel Group. “Over the past several years, we have focused primarily on the direct impact of our activities, and we have made significant progress. Today, we are working on the environmental impact of our entire value chain.”

Bel has been actively involved in the development of sustainable dairy farming through a partnership formed in 2012 with the WWF, one of the founding NGOs of the Science Based Targets initiative. The work with the WWF has focused both on dairy cow feed, which has a high environmental impact, and supporting dairy farmers in their transition to ever more sustainable farming practices.

Thanks to the progress already achieved and the initiatives launched over the last several years, we can now set ambitious targets over a wider scope as part of a collective effort crucial to the future of our planet and the next generations,” Ms. Sartre added.

About The Science Based Targets initiative

The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

Currently, 290 companies have committed as part of this initiative to align their emission reduction targets with recommendations made by scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The recommendations are aimed at keeping the global temperature increase below 2°C, the target set in the Paris Agreement and adopted at COP21.

The Science Based Targets initiative helps companies set adapted targets based on sector-by-sector carbon allowances, i.e. the total emission volume possible within the 2°C limit, and by taking into account other criteria such as the scope of the company’s direct and indirect emissions, its commitment period and its level of ambition.

The list of member companies is available at http://sciencebasedtargets.org/companies-taking-action/