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Sponsored content: Uelzena - A pioneer in sustainable dairy production
Uelzena: A pioneer in sustainable dairy production
The Uelzena Group - a dairy cooperative from northern Germany – has placed sustainability at the heart of its business. Bernd Gewecke, Managing Director of Dairy Products, Ingredients & Contract Manufacturing at Uelzena, explains how involving all stakeholders and basing decisions on solid data have been key to helping the firm transition towards more sustainable practices.
Bernd Gewecke, Managing Director of Dairy Products, Ingredients & Contract Manufacturing, Uelzena
Uelzena was founded by a group of regional milk producers in 1952, as a means of centrally processing and marketing milk. Today, the company is active in four company-wide business areas: Ingredients & Contract Drying, Dairy Products, Instant Beverages and Health Products.
“As a cooperatively organised dairy company, sustainability is part of our DNA,” explains Gewecke .
“The responsible use of natural resources is in our own interest, because preserving them ensures our longterm survival of our company . Thinking and acting sustainably also matches our cooperative values .
The Group sources raw materials predominantly within a radius of 150 km, and its milk producers operate in a highly sustainable manner . “For example, they produce their own fodder, and invest in renewable energies as well as in animal-friendly stables with outdoor access,” says Gewecke .
Tech innovation, industry involvement
Critical resources such as electricity, water and gas are also major cost factors in dairy production . Investing in green technology therefore make perfect economic, as well as environmental sense .
“In recent years we have made investments in a number of energy- and resource-saving processes,” notes Gewecke .
“These include the installation of energy-saving LED lighting, comprehensive heat and process water recovery, frequency-controlled burners for our steam boilers, the modernisation of our own combined heat and power plants and the construction of a new energy-efficient evaporator for milk. And these are just a few examples! As a result, we have already been able to reduce our CO2 emissions by almost 50 % since 2012 .”
Another key innovation has been data collection, and making data more transparent and visible . “In order to improve anything, you need to know what’s going on,” says Gewecke .
With this in mind, the Group participates in a dairy sustainability tool run by the Thünen Institute and QM Milk . This started an intensive dialogue with dairy farmers, though a fair amount of persuasion was needed to begin with .
“The project includes extensive surveys on aspects such as the economy, ecology, social issues and animal welfare,” says Gewecke . “This was a lot of work for the farmers . We are so pleased to see that many of our farms are now engaged, and will continue to be so .”
This touches on a key point raised by Gewecke - the importance of involving all market participants in the sustainability transition . He points out that a large part of the Uelzena Group’s greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to the upstream area of milk production .
“This is why it is vital to look at the entire value chain and to get everyone involved,” he says . “This means not just milk producers, but also technology suppliers and logistics service providers, and even customers . What we have learned along the way is that it is immensely important to involve all stakeholders along the entire value chain from the very beginning . ”
A culture of sustainability
Such investment, effort and commitment has ensured that sustainability is now deeply embedded in the company’s culture . It is central to every decision, from procuring raw materials to maintenance projects .
In order to ensure coordination, the position of sustainability representative was created . This person reports directly to the CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board . Since 2014, the Group has produced an annual sustainability report in accordance with the GRI standard, in which it reports transparently on its objectives and achievements .
“Energy efficiency and the careful use of resources are a fundamental part of project planning,” says Gewecke. “Cutting energy costs has contributed to maintaining our profitability and is a part of securing the future of our company .”
The company is confident in the future of sustainable milk production in Europe, and is at the same time evaluating new product development directions .
“We are currently observing a tremendous dynamic in plant-based products and are looking into spraydrying oat milk, for example,” says Gewecke .
The company is also currently assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of its products and processes, on the basis of data from its merchandise management system .
“We continue to be involved in the dairy sustainability tool project, and are looking at the carbon footprint of milk together with our dairy farmers,” says Gewecke .
“By gaining an overview of the emissions from milk production, we can work out possibilities for reducing them . ”
