Sustainability

The Irish Dairy Board is developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy for its business, based on a solid foundation of credible and benchmarked policies, practices and performance measurements.

A number of cost reduction and sustainability initiatives are underway across our European operations in order to improve efficiencies and lower emissions, not least of which is an evaluation of our European logistics and supply chain network, including quantification of our transport carbon footprint. The high performance continuous improvement culture so closely associated with lean manufacturing will be replicated in our approach to sustainability.

At subsidiary level a number of important initiatives are underway to reduce energy costs and lower emissions. The Adams Foods Ltd site in Leek Staffordshire is designed to be the most efficient and environmentally friendly cheese packing facility in Europe. It is the UK’s leading pre-packing cheese business, supplying over 30 percent of the retail market. As part of an environmental management programme at the factory, it is using combined heat and power (CHP) technology for its electricity generation on site to reduce its carbon footprint. A number of other energy saving techniques to reduce costs and lower carbon emissions have also been implemented including the installation of sun pipes, passive infra red (PIR) lighting controls, photovoltaic cells and free cooling. Many of these initiatives are now being incorporated into the new Adams Food Ingredient factory currently under construction.

IDB Deutschland is working on a holistic sustainability concept for the Kerrygold butter packing plant in Neukirchen-Vluyn to respond directly to consumers’ sustainability priorities. It has already adopted a number of energy saving techniques. For example, energy generated for the warehouse refrigeration in the pre-packing plant is converted into heat for the administration building. The plant collects rainwater and is committed to minimising all packaging, to using environmentally friendly material and to recycling 100% of all raw material outer packing. Work is underway to introduce LED technology in the production and warehousing areas.

On a broader front, perhaps the single most important sustainability development for the Irish Dairy Board and the Irish dairy sector in 2010 was the priority given to sustainability as a platform for export growth in the Government’s 2020 strategy report for the industry. The Food Harvest 2020 report places sustainability at the heart of the development of Irish dairying into the future, while at the same time acknowledging Ireland’s strong environmental credentials associated with our extensive, low-input, grass-based production systems. The need to substantiate Ireland’s green image by scientific evidence and farmer support and for government and stakeholders to demonstrate the sustainability of Irish dairy products to consumers is warmly welcome and the IDB will be working with all stakeholders to ensure that IDB customers and Kerrygold consumers recognise implicitly that by choosing Irish, they are choosing to value and respect the natural environment.