Danone Cuts Emissions With US$51m Investment in UK Oat Milk

Oat milk requires less water and emits fewer emissions compared to cow milk, based on findings from Oxford University.

Alpro, a brand by Danone, aims to reduce its impact further within the UK by using entirely British-sourced oats.

To achieve this Danone has invested US$51m to Alpro’s facility located in Kettering, UK.

Hannah Cornick, Head of Sustainability and Social Innovation at Danone UK & Ireland, says: “Reducing our impact on nature is a key part of our Danone Impact Journey, so it’s really encouraging to see the real-world benefits of our move to local sourcing and new recipes.

“Whilst our oat drinks already provided shoppers with a lower-carbon option, we’re pleased our recent actions have reduced this environmental impact even further. 

“Our shift to 100% British Oats, combined with a new production process that requires less energy and less water, has been a valuable investment that ultimately allows us to deliver a healthy, tasty product to our customers in a more sustainable way.

“We continue to innovate and look for ways we can reduce our impact so we can deliver more for people and the planet.” 

Assessing Alpro’s sustainability impact

Alpro indicates that transitioning to locally sourced oats along with a newly implemented production process in the UK has, on average, created notable effects:

• Achieving a 25% reduction in the carbon footprint.
• A 20% drop in land use.
• A 70% cut in water usage across the product lifecycle, compared to Alpro’s earlier Oat Original and No Sugars 1-litre drink recipes in the UK.

A lifecycle evaluation carried out by Foodsteps suggests this initiative correlates to an anticipated reduction of 6,000 tonnes in Alpro’s carbon footprint by the year 2025.

The new oat flour provider, Navara Oat Mill, is located near the Alpro factory.

They source their oats predominantly within an 80-mile radius round the mill, significantly reducing food miles and, consequently, carbon emissions.

Mark Bristow, Quality and Food Safety Director at Danone, says: “Until now, only 1% of oat drink on the market has been guaranteed to be from British crops.

“Our move to local sourcing will significantly increase the number of homegrown options for shoppers.”

What is in Alpro’s UK oat drink?

The no-sugar oat drink from Alpro incorporates the following ingredients:

• Water
• Oats
• Sunflower oil
• Soluble corn fibre
• Calcium
• Sea salt
• Stabiliser (gellan gum)
• Potassium iodide
• Vitamins B2 and D2

According to Alpro, the key advantages of their drink include being naturally free of lactose, low in fat, containing no added sugars and being a source of fibre, calcium and vitamin D.

Other sustainability efforts by Danone

Danone is engaged in multiple sustainability efforts, one being the extension of their existing partnership for the supply of dairy ingredients, with an aim to cut on-farm emissions by about 50% by 2030.

This project includes integrating BioFiltro’s wastewater treatment technology at a dairy farm in California, US.

Danone has also moved into a new phase of its investment in Danone’s Digital Lab in Singapore.

This phase aims to boost abilities in digital science, data analytics, and AI-driven health solutions.

Furthermore, the launch of its Iron up! programme is set to accelerate their initiatives in combating iron deficiency anaemia.

The initiative seeks to positively affect the health of young children worldwide who are affected by iron deficiency anaemia.

Katrien Van Laere, Senior Vice-President R&I Chief Scientific and Medical officer, Danone says: “At Danone we are convinced nutrition can make a positive, proven difference to health especially in those early years” 

“For years, we have been committed to addressing iron deficiency anaemia contributing to the screening of over 1.5 million children to date.

“With Iron Up! we are scaling our impact by combining science-based innovation, deep nutritional expertise, and strong partnerships to reach more children and help them thrive.”