Fighting climate change

In February 2022, the Bel Group has announced that it is strengthening its carbon reduction target to help limit global warming to below +1.5°C

This particularly ambitious commitment for a mainly dairy company involves a net reduction of one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions throughout Bel’s entire value chain by 2035, and the integration of carbon tracking as a tool for steering its activities.

This means taking action at our own industrial sites (with the aim of making our plants carbon neutral by 2025), but also working with our entire ecosystem to minimize the environmental impact of activities ranging from the production of raw materials to the end-of-life of products, including their transport and distribution.

Working with our partner farmers

For many years, Bel has been working to reduce its carbon footprint throughout its value chain and is working hand in hand with its dairy farmers to develop more sustainable farming practices. In recent months, the Group has announced the launch in 2022 of two new initiatives:

A new premium of €5/1000L in France for the Group’s 750 APBO partner farmers, guaranteeing 100% European cow feed from October 2022
A pilot program on cow feed aiming to reduce methane emissions from herds, starting in spring 2022 in France and Slovakia and conducted in collaboration with the company DSM.

Within the framework of our global “Sustainable Dairy Upstream” charter, built in partnership with the WWF, we encourage producers to limit the environmental impact of their activities: promotion of grazing, use of locally produced feed, development of carbon audits on farms, anawareness of water resource management, pilot projects in agroforestry, etc.

Developping a complementary plant-Based offer

In a context where the world population continues to grow and will likely reach more than 9 billion people by 2050, we are also aware of the need to diversify and balance animal and plant food sources while preserving our planet’s resources, as recommended by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report.

Therefore, our Group has chosen to go beyond its historical territory of cheese by acquiring MOM, a specialist in fruit compotes, in 2016, and then by announcing its development in the plant-based sector in 2019 through the launch of our 100% plant-based brand Nurishh®.

We aim to be present in 3 complementary areas – dairy, fruit and plant-based food – with the mission of offering “healthier and more responsible food for all.”

In 2020 we launched a 100% vegetable-based version of Boursin® in the United States and The Laughing Cow Blends, with combinations of vegetables, legumes and cheese followed by the launch in 2022 of a 100% plant-based Babybel® in the US, the UK and Canada.

Acting on our production sites and transport

On our own industrial sites, we have set ambitious targets for reducing energy consumption, while developing the use of renewable energy sources. We also seek to reduce the footprint of our activities on water resources by reducing water consumption at our production sites and by ensuring the quality of discharges into the natural environment.

Our objective is to contribute to carbon neutrality in our factories by 2025 through different actions:

o Between 2008 and 2020 we reduced by -60% CO2 emitted per ton of products

o Energy savings and optimization

o 67% of the group’s energy comes from renewable sources (Vs 47% in 2020)

Besides, we have 2 sites equipped with biomass boilers

STEF is our number one partner in Europe. Expectedly, we gathered around the table to identify action plans to reduce our impact. We’ve identified many areas of progress, from pallet optimization to the way we drive our trucks.

To optimize transportation by adjusting our practices and innovating (optimization of filling rates, reduction of distances and use of biofuels) we work with our partner Fret 21 initiative in France.

Acting on our packaging

Because our impact does not stop at the manufacturing stage, we continue our efforts right up to the end of the products’ life, after consumption. We seek to reduce the impact of packaging from the design stage through to waste management and contribute to the development of sorting and recycling solutions. Our target for 2025 is to have 100% of our packaging be recyclable and/or biodegradable.

Already 92% of packaging recyclable-ready
More eco-design of our packaging
Work on partnership with the recycling sector
Development of bulk

Fighting against food waste

We are also committed to fighting against food waste, which is a major issue in reducing the sector’s carbon footprint, as a third of the food produced in the world is wasted.

Our objective is to reduce -50% food waste by 2030.

99% valorization of co-products during transformation
9% of finished products sold or given to associations

In several countries (France, Portugal, UK, Spain) we work with our partner Too Good To Go to raise consumers’ awareness of the minimum durability date and to prevent products that are still good from being thrown away.