FrieslandCampina increases sustainability premium

FrieslandCampina is investing an extra €24 million in rewarding member dairy farmers for performance in quality and sustainability. The amount will be added to the Foqus planet programme, where members score points in 'green' areas. The more points, the higher the premium.

With this extra investment FrieslandCampina wants to be a leader in sustainability and achieve a minimal environmental impact. Hein Schumacher, CEO of the cooperative dairy group, points out in a statement that the €24 million extra is a deepening of the policy that was initiated in 2014. "In 2014, our members already chose to encourage each other to achieve even better sustainability performance, with the most being paid out to the best performers."

Reward specific
According to Schumacher, it is quite possible to specifically reward the members, because FrieslandCampina monitors "how our members are performing in all kinds of areas – from emissions of various greenhouse gases to animal welfare – at farm level." He also points to customers, such as supermarket chains. “If our customers also continue to invest in this, such as through the higher compensation for On the way to PlanetProof dairy, our members can improve even further.”

FrieslandCampina aims for a COâ-neutral chain, Schumacher reports. Foqus planet measures, among other things, the environmental impact of a dairy farm, such as the amount of self-produced feed (protein from own land), greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen soil balance, ammonia emissions and permanent grassland, as well as animal welfare and health.

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