Green Goals are Getting Closer

In 2019, Arla declared its sustainability strategy „Green Ambition 2050“. A further step along the way: fresh Arla organic pasture milk in a new carton that is now completely unbleached.

Step by step, the largest producer of organic dairy products, according to its own statements, is in the process of making its packaging portfolio more sustainable throughout Europe. The new milk carton for Arla Bio Weidemilch now has one less packaging layer, is therefore lighter and consists of 100 percent unbleached cardboard. Renewable raw materials are used in the production of the plastic for the lid and for the internal coating of the carton. The basis for this is sugar cane, which is processed into a plant-based plastic.

92 percent of the packaging is recyclable

„We want to master the ecological challenges and see it as our duty to keep an eye on every part of the value chain – from the cow to the consumer“, explains Markus Mühleisen, Germany’s head of Arla Foods. „Packaging plays an important role here.“

In 2019, Arla has started to convert 600 million fresh milk packaging units to renewable materials throughout Europe and to make 560 million yoghurt and cream cups recyclable. On the German market alone, the target is 205 million cups. The goal is that by 2025 all Arla packaging in Europe will be recyclable. By April 2020, this figure had risen to 92 percent.

Step by step to CO2 neutrality

The measures also help to protect the climate. By 2030, Arla aims to reduce all CO2 emissions along the entire value chain by 30 percent. By then, emissions attributable to packaging alone are to be reduced by around 8,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. By 2050, the entire packaging portfolio should be CO2-neutral.