DURBAN - Nestlé has launched the Skimmelkrans Net Zero Carbon Emissions Project, to create the company’s first carbon neutral dairy farm.
The farm which will be located in George, South Africa and Nestlé has committed that by 2023 the dairy farm will be carbon net zero.
“The Skimmelkrans project is a positive step in our sustainability journey. In the context of yesterday’s global announcement by our CEO, Mark Schneider around redoubling efforts to combat climate change, we have committed to reaching a waste free and zero net emission future within Nestlé by 2050, building on decades of work already done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project will scale the quality production of our dairy products therefore enhancing our consumer experience,” said Saint-Francis Tohlang, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR).
The Skimmelkrans Net Zero Carbon Emissions Project forms part of the Nestlé’s broader sustainability platform called RE.
Through the RE platform the company has committed to RETHINK, REDUCE AND REPURPOSE. These three pillars will come into play on the Skimmelkrans farm.
“Net-zero is achieved when emissions created by the farm are displaced by removing the same amount of emissions from the atmosphere. While there are many ways to create more sustainable operations for dairy farms, Skimmelkrans sets itself apart through the soil work, water conservation, feed management and manure processing, where some of the biggest reductions of greenhouse gases occur,” stated Hoven Meyer, Agricultural Services Group Manager at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR).
Cow manure produces methane: one of the most harmful greenhouse gases. At Skimmelkrans, cow manure is collected while they graze, and then goes into a press that separates the solids form the liquids.
This ensures that there is no moisture left in the finished product: the solids are released back into the soil as compost, and the liquids go back into the pastures as irrigation, meaning that less methane is released into the air.
In April 2021, the soil will be tested, screened, and analysed by soil experts and the results will determine how much closer the farm is to the net zero carbon emissions goal.
Skimmelkrans operates in a biodiverse ecosystem which result in better care and nutrition for the cows on the farm, as well as better nutrition in the milk products produced, giving consumers a safe, environmentally friendly product.
Products that will benefit from these initiatives include Nestlé Milo, Nestlé Nespray and other milks.
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