Once we collect the milk from the farms of our 2,400 UK farmer owners, we take it to our production sites. We have 10 in the UK from Taw Valley in Devon to Lockerbie in Scotland. At these sites we make all kinds of dairy, both for the Arla brand and for many of the leading supermarkets, coffee chains, restaurants and foodservice companies. We then deliver the products, either direct to our business customers, or to one of our two distribution centres in Hatfield and Leeds.
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels for energy is a key step. Our ambition is that by the end of 2021 we will have converted to using 100 per cent green electricity across all of our sites. Reducing our reliance also includes the diesel that runs our lorries. We’re already experimenting with alternative fuels so that our transport remains as efficient as ever whilst helping us to achieve our 2050 carbon net zero goals.
Rethinking waste and how it can be repurposed is a big focus area for us. Inspired by the ingenuity of our farmer owners, we’re great believers in the power of a circular economy, where things are reused and repurposed as much as possible rather than just thrown away. And we have lots of great examples of how we’re already doing this;
When we make butter, the water components of the milk are evaporated leaving behind the x and x. We then let the steam cool and collect the water droplets to clean our floors at the site. Effectively, our sites are being cleaned by water that likely started off as moisture in the grass, was eaten by the cow and turned into milk, was heated at site and turned into steam, and was then converted back to water for use in cleaning our sites. We think that’s a bit like magic!
Last, but definitely not least, we recycle as much as we can. This is most obvious in the packaging we use, where our milk bottles are already recyclable and we’re working hard to make that the case for all our packaging. Up to 40% of the plastic in our milk bottles has already been recycled and is reused.
Thousands of adults across Britain admit they struggle to understand all of the labels on food and drink packaging, resulting in many binning perfectly good produce, new research* has revealed.
Foil packaging was first introduced in 1957 but with no major innovation since then, consumer insight revealed that 45% consumers agree that block butter packaging is messy to use, and 57% consumers said they would be more likely to purchase Block Butter if the packaging was easier to open and reseal*. Aiming to add value into the block butter category, the new Lurpak Butterbox is a convenient reclosable box that addresses the consumer barriers & frustrations with Block Butter in foil.
Butter, cheese, yogurt and milk that should have been destined for Britain’s cafes and restaurants will now be going into homes of some of the most vulnerable families in the country. Thanks to new partnerships between three food charities and the UK’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative, Arla Foods, milk will also be provided to thousands of school children who need it most.
