Atria is a pioneer in sustainability in its industry and now also discloses the carbon footprint of its pork products on its consumer packaging. Earlier this year, Atria introduced carbon footprint labelling on all chicken products. The label on the packaging indicates the climate impact of the entire production chain of the product in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents. The carbon footprint is calculated and reported per packaged product (kg CO2e / product). Carbon footprint labelled pork products are now available in stores all over Finland.
The calculation covers approximately half of Atria's farm-origin-labelled pork and thus represents the average carbon footprint of Atria's pork products. The carbon footprint of Atria pork is 3.21 CO2e per kilogram of carcass (2.55 CO2e per kilogram of live weight). The carbon footprint on the packaging takes into account not only the pig but also the packaging materials, any other raw materials and the emissions from the processing of the product.
– Calculating and labelling the carbon footprint of pork products on consumer packaging is unique in our industry – Atria is the first in the world to do so. Finnish consumers are increasingly aware of the climate impact of food and carbon footprint labelling is one way to better serve consumers. Earlier this year we introduced labelling on chicken packaging and now also on pork packaging," says Merja Leino, Atria Group's EVP of Sustainability.
– The carbon footprint label tells consumers not only about the carbon footprint, but also about the transparency of the Atria chain and the work done to develop its facilities. When we have an understanding of the sources of emissions from different parts of the chain, the work of our entire production chain towards our carbon neutrality goal becomes visible," continues Merja Leino.
One of the farms included in the calculation is the Honkala farm in Seinäjoki, Finland. The Honkala farm has also been involved in a research project that completely abandoned the use of soya in pig feed and replaced it with domestic protein feed. The pioneering work at Honkala has made it possible to extend soy-free farming to other Atria pig farms. Soy-free feeding during the breeding phase has already enabled a reduction of more than 30 % in the carbon footprint of pigs.
– The calculation gave us a concrete idea of what our farm's carbon footprint consists of. Now we know what we need to do on our farm to further reduce the carbon footprint of our production. The most important thing is to take care of good productivity and animal welfare, as well as soy-free feed based on domestic raw materials, which is one of the more important factors in reducing our carbon footprint," says Pentti Honkala.
The carbon footprint calculation has been carried out in cooperation with Envitecpolis Oy and a total of 32 pig farms in the Atria region. Envitecpolis uses the international Cool Farm Tool to calculate the carbon footprint of primary production. The Cool Farm Tool specialises in calculating the carbon footprint of primary production and provides an individual carbon footprint based on the farm's own data and activities. The carbon emissions associated with the production of a product, such as energy use, packaging materials, detergents, etc. are allocated per product. The calculation is based on the calculation methods of the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) as well as on the latest research in the field.
More information:
Merja Leino, Executive Vice President, Sustainability, Atria Plc, tel. +358 40 580 1210