Farmlands measures big cut to emissions

Three years into a carbon reduction programme, Farmlands has shaved another 7 percent off its emissions, dropping a further 1,006 tonnes of carbon (tCO2e) since 2020 and 3,127 since the base programme began in 2019.

With further emission reduction developments in the pipeline, Head of Sustainability and Land Use Katie Vickers is confident Farmlands will surpass the 30 percent by 2030 reduction target set out in the initial Toitū Envirocare carbonreduce certification in 2019. The 7 percent drop can be partially attributed to lower travel levels due to COVID-19 and concentrated efforts to improve the efficiency of the supply chain and Farmlands’ vehicle fleet. Freight deliveries account for 55 percent of Farmlands’ emissions and 25.4 percent can be attributed to fleet fuel. The feedmill diesel boiler accounts for 5.9 percent, electricity for 5.2 percent and waste accumulated at 3.1 percent. While the total 18 percent drop from the first certification is significant, Farmlands is pushing for further reductions. Sustainable packaging guidelines and carbon-neutral shrink wrap are on the way. Assisting agrichemical recycling company Agrecovery in hosting sites for its new LDPE plastic bag programme will also provide support for shareholders in reducing plastic on-farm. “Toitū offers a word-renowned certification and it holds us to account to measure, manage and report on our emissions,” Katie says. “We have a serious responsibility as a business to do our part in lowering overall emissions in New Zealand and we want to be leading the way for our shareholders, customers and suppliers.” Toitū’s carbonreduce certification is based on international standards. Toitū carbonzero and Toitū carbonreduce certification marks are recognised in over 60 countries, making it ideal for companies working in global supply chains or exporting products. Toitū has supported Farmlands in accurately measuring the co-operative’s greenhouse gas emissions and has helped put in place strategies to manage and reduce impacts. Compliance with the programme is independently verified annually to maintain certification.

Katie says the numbers over the last 2 years are a testament to the co-operative’s commitment to the reduction targets. “Based on our current figures, we are in the position where we can re-evaluate our targets and get tougher on what is deemed acceptable in our day-to-day practices when it comes to sustainability. “Our Farmlanders are committed to driving sustainable change and we have initiatives starting to kick off, from creating a single-use coffee cup free zone in our Christchurch Support Office to reviewing the packaging of our bags.” Farmlands remains committed to hitting emission reduction targets and to supporting shareholders and customers in achieving their own sustainability goals along the way.

Toitū ... holds us to account to measure, manage and report on our emissions.”

Head of Sustainability and Land Use Katie Vickers

EMISSIONS IN CONTEXT:

Farmlands’ 2020 emission reduction of 1,006 tCO2e is equivalent to:

• The volume of 4,703 Olympic swimming pools. • Driving from Auckland to

Wellington in a medium-sized petrol engine car 7,318 times. • 49 times the average New

Zealand household emissions per year. • Burning 412,980 litres of petrol.

Farmlands' top 5 emission factors

25.4%

Company fleet fuel

55.0%

Freight deliveries

3.1%

Waste Accumulated

5.9%

Feedmill diesel boiler

5.2%

Electricity

2020 /2021 2021/2022 What we plan to deliver this year What we have delivered

Total carbon emissions reduced by 12.24% (target: 3%).

Air travel reduced by 40.87% due to COVID-19 (target 15%).

33 vehicles removed from fleet between September 2020 and April 2021, reducing fuel use. LED lighting installed in 12 Farmlands branches.

Waste to Landfill target of 5%.

We are collecting more accurate data at 80% of our sites, to ensure we have more visibility on what we are sending to landfills.

We have upgraded our Winton Feed Mill coal boiler to diesel.

Freight

We are implementing the Ortec trip scheduling management system for fuel deliveries and increasing efficiency and data accuracy through the implementation of our new M2X system.

Electricity

15 stores per year to be converted to LED lighting. Increase efficiency through monthto-month comparison of Meridian site usage data.

Diesel & Petrol

We’re introducing advanced telematics (via GPS) to monitor and evaluate driver behaviour.

We’re also partnering with a vehicle leasing agency to assess fleet and introduce more fuel efficient, hybrid and/or electric vehicles (where possible). Upgrade of three leased delivery trucks in Taieri, Alexandra and Greymouth.

Waste

Achieve access to weight collection data for 100% of sites.