Report: Big meat and dairy companies in Europe pollute with impunity | News

The study examined the 35 largest beef, pork, poultry and dairy companies based in the European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. This includes FrieslandCampina, Danish Crown, Nestlé and Danone. They have looked, among other things, at their climate plans and the emissions within their supply chains.

According to the IATP, the 35 companies were responsible for 7 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union in 2018. “The climate footprint of Europe’s major meat and dairy companies could rival that of Europe’s major meat and dairy companies,” said Shefali Sharma, IATP European Director. fossil fuel giants. “However, they can go about their business with impunity.” Seven out of ten companies tracked by the organization over a longer period of time saw their climate footprint grow between 2016 and 2018.

Only three companies surveyed (Nestlé, FrieslandCampina, ABB) have announced plans to reduce their overall supply chain emissions. Although there is no evidence, notes the IATP, that one of those companies is also considering radically changing its business model based on large-scale livestock farming and processing.

The IATP concludes that many large companies do not have any climate plans or targets. Even companies that have articulated such ambitions are often guilty of “greenwashing.” This means that they make their policy seem more environmentally friendly than it actually is. They may also use “accounting tricks” and “questionable offsets” to divert attention from the fundamental changes they will have to make to reduce their emissions.