What is a carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is a measurement of the impact humans have on the environment. The amount of carbon, expressed as CO2 equivalents, we release into the atmosphere through our activities is increasingly accepted by scientists to have a profound effect on several of today’s most pressing environmental problems:
- The increase in CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere by human activities is believed to be a driving force behind Global Warming.
- As the planet heats up, the major frozen land masses of the world are melting.
- This causes sea levels to rise, with significant implications for the populations of the world’s coastal communities
- These frozen land masses are also critical sources of drinking water. Their shrinkage has alarming consequences for the civilizations that depend upon them.
It is up to us, as communities, individuals or businesses to bring about a step change in the way we think about CO2 emissions and how we reduce them.
For many years now, DANONE has been working on initiatives aimed at carbon footprint reduction.
What is the carbon footprint of our products?
But exactly how much CO2 is created from raw material
sourcing, bottling and transport to stores of bottled
water? In the UK we drink around 36 litres of bottled water
each, every year 
Zenith Global Water Report, 2006 . DANONE, working in consultation with
Price Waterhouse Coopers, have calculated that the CO2
equivalent emissions created by producing and consuming
bottled water Based on DANONE Waters UK’s carbon footprint calculations for the Evian and Volvic brands represent approximately 0.07% of the total
daily emissions of the average British person. World resources institute estimates that an average British person generates about 30.4kg CO2 equivalent emissions per day. .
How does that compare?
The CO2 produced during the manufacture of bottled water
can be put into further perspective when we compare bottled
water to other consumables. The chart below shows
the estimated emissions of CO2 Chicken: Environmental impact of food production and consumption, DEFRA, Dec 2006.
Tomatoes: The validity of food miles as an indicator of sustainable development, Final Report produced for DEFRA, July 2005
Bottled water figures Derived form an international methodology developed in consultation with Price Waterhouse Coopers, October 2007. Assumes delivery point in postal code B3." : per litre, based on a weighted average (according to sales) of different PET bottle sizes in range.
On the face of it these results might seem quite surprising. Tomatoes imported from Spain have much less of an impact in terms of CO2 emissions than those grown in our own country.
Common
Misconceptions
Misconception number 1:
The carbon footprint of a product is directly proportional to the distance it travels (sometimes referred to as “food miles”)
There are several reasons why this is not the case:
- Per the graph on the left, tomatoes imported from Spain have a much lower footprint than those grown in our own country, because tomatoes grown in the UK need to be cultivated in heated greenhouses.
- In goods transportation, the mode of transport is a far more important factor than the distance. Because DANONE uses more efficient modes of transport, like French electric rail and sea for large parts of the journey of its bottled water from source to consumer, it is as carbon efficient as less ‘clean’ transportation methods from UK-based sources.
Misconception number 2:
Transportation is the primary cause of a product’s carbon footprint
Not true! Consider...
- Shampoos and washing powder. In-home use, where hot water is usually required, is the major contributor to the overall carbon footprint of these products
- Potatoes. The carbon footprint involved in the cultivation and transport is arguably negligible. But what about the energy require to bake a potato in an oven? In such a case, the footprint created by the product’s in-home use can be as much as seven or eight times the combined impact of all the other components.
Conclusion
The science of carbon footprint is very young, and often not fully understood. Carbon footprint calculations are open to misinterpretation, and need to be considered in a broader context to have validity.
Transport represents around 30% of the total carbon footprint of our bottled water. Over the years we have put a lot of effort into optimizing our logistics operations and finding ways to use the cleanest modes of transport available.
Methods of Transport
It may seem counter-intuitive but the carbon footprints of Evian and Volvic are comparable to those of UK produced bottled water. This is because, when it comes to transportation, more miles doesn’t necessarily mean more CO2.
We use a combination of rail, sea and road transportation to move our products from their sources in France to the warehouses and retailers in the UK. The diagram below shows the amount of CO2 produced per tonne of product per kilometre for different modes of transport.
Grams equivalent CO2 per km & tonne of product
Wherever we can, we make use of the electric train network in France to move our product. Transporting a product one kilometre by road creates roughly the same level of carbon emissions per kilo as would transporting the same product nearly seven kilometres by French electric rail. Guideline carbon emissions standards provided by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) and by the Swiss centre for life cycle inventories (Ecoinvent)" So concentrating our efforts on taking product off the road and onto the rail network has a profound effect on the amount of CO2 produced during transport.
Since 2005 we have increased the proportion of miles its product is transported (from source to warehouse) by train from 59% to 70%. This percentage is forecast to increase to 73% in 2008
As well as making the best use of the rail network, the destination of our product is also important. We are constantly working with our UK retailers to provide the most energy efficient way of delivering products to their warehouses. We now deliver over 50% of our goods directly to UK customers from North European depots, up from 20% in 2005. Again, this allows for a greater use of trains and further reduces our CO2 footprint.
Sea transport is also very efficient from an emissions perspective. In the future, dependent on ferry route capacities, we hope to further minimise the need for road miles, by increasing the variety of ports we ship Evian and Volvic into.
Bottled water requires a relatively low level of energy in its production. Our manufacturing processes represent around 5% of the overall carbon footprint of our bottled water. However, we have implemented many initiatives over the years to improve our energy efficiency:
ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is an international standard of environmental management. Any organisation that has been awarded this certification has implemented a set of processes that aim to minimize the impact their operations have on the environment. To date, the majority of DANONE Groupe manufacturing facilities have been awarded ISO 14001.
Minimizing environmental impact
In recent years DANONE has implemented several initiatives to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste during manufacture. DANONE’s Green Plants Initiative has entailed a €16 million investment to reduce the impact of our activities
This on-going commitment has paid dividends with a 16% reduction in water usage, a 19% reduction in energy use and a massive 76% reduction in industrial waste recovery between the years of 2000 and 2005.
The largest proportion of our carbon footprint, around 65%, comes from our packaging processes and materials. We have been working diligently over many years to reduce this figure and have been fighting the battle on two fronts; reducing the amount of plastics we use during manufacture and improving the ways we recycle plastics after consumption.
Lightweighting is the process of reducing the actual amount of plastic we use in our bottles. Over the last 15 years we’ve achieved a 30% reduction in the weight of our PET (Polyethylene teraphthalate) bottles.
As well as reducing the overall weight of our bottles, we are also introducing Recycled PET (R-PET) into our bottles. This is PET that has already been used in bottle manufacture, and has been collected and recycled for re-use.
The Courtauld Commitment
The Courtauld Commitment is an agreement between the Waste & Resource Action Programme (WRAP) and major retailers and brands. Within this agreement brands and retailers agree to invest in new technologies and packaging solutions so that less rubbish ends up in the bin. As a signatory DANONE commits to continue to work on packaging and packaging waste reduction initiatives.
Recycling
PET bottles are 100% recyclable. Unfortunately, the UK has one of the lowest consumer recycling rates in Europe. Government
landfill waste reduction targets tend to be defined by weight, which means that heavier materials (glass, for example) provide more attractive areas of focus for the waste management industry. DANONE along with other soft drinks manufacturers are currently exploring opportunities to work with local authorities on initiatives to improve PET recovery and recycling.
One such initiative is a pilot project we are introducing in Glasgow. From early 2008 onwards, we will be placing a number of branded PET collection banks in high-density areas of the city and making consumers aware of them by leafleting local offices and businesses. A dedicated vehicle will be provided for the ongoing emptying and maintenance of the collection banks and additional staff will be employed in Glasgow’s materials recovery plant to sort collected waste into recyclable, and therefore sellable, PET.
Danone is working with several partners to implement this project:
- Glasgow City Council, who are leading the operational aspects of PET collection from the city centre, and subsequent preparation for dispatch to recycling plants
- The Scottish Waste Awareness Group, who are leading the campaign to assist public understanding of how and where to recycle PET
- The Wise Group, who are using this project to provide employment and training opportunities for the long-term unemployed. Their aim is to provide a platform for them to gain a foothold in gainful employment, thereby move towards economic independence.
- Valpak, who are overseeing the implementation and measurement of the project’s impact on overall PET recycling rates in the city. The ultimate aim is to understand whether this type of scheme can become financially independent and sustainable.
We work with FareShare, the community food network, to redistribute any of our bottled water that is no longer suitable for sale. The bottles, which are still within their sell by date but for one reason or another cannot be sold, are distributed to day centres, hostels and other community projects to help the disadvantaged and further reduce the need for recycling.
Water is a renewable resource. As the world’s leading producer of bottled spring water, Groupe DANONE is one of the players that is most directly concerned by the long-term production of this resource. It has invested heavily in its preservation (in terms of quantity) and protection (in terms of quality).
Protecting the purity, quality and sustainability of the water sources we manage is of the highest priority for DANONE. In the same way the wood and paper industries manage sustainable forest to provide the materials they need, we have to make sure our sources, and the communities of which they are a part of, are treated with respect and managed effectively.
Groundwater Protection Policy
In 2004, DANONE implemented the DANONE Groundwater Resources Protection Policy.
The prime principle underlying this Charter is to avoid making excessive demands on the hundred or so Group springs and not to use more water than nature can produce naturally. The water cycle is studied and demands on springs are limited in order to maintain groundwater levels.
The declaration outlines the measures that we will enforce to protect and manage the water sources we use.
The DANONE Groupe policy on groundwater resources protection is based on the following objectives:
- Guarantee the purity and quality of the water in order to ensure the quality of our products and the safety of our consumers
- Guarantee the permanence of water resources
- Reinforce the image of the DANONE Groupe and of its brands
- Exercise social responsibility at the local level
- Protect and promote the natural heritage of the sites
To this end, the divisions, subsidiaries, and production facilities of the DANONE Groupe pledge to apply this policy by implementing the following:
- Understand the hydrogeology of water resources and the natural and human environment of the sites
- Develop lasting relationships with local communities and contribute to local development
- Implement measures to protect each water resource according to local conditions
- To not exceed the natural recovery capacity of the water resources
- Dedicate the necessary means under the responsibility of a designated manager
- Periodically monitor and evaluate the results of this policy
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
The mission of the Ramsar Convention, as adopted by the Parties in 1999 and refined in 2002, is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.
The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that was adopted at Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. To date it has been signed by 153 countries and aims to encourage the protection and rational use of wetlands through international cooperation and local action.
DANONE is the only private enterprise to have signed up to this treaty. As part of it’s commitment to the Ramsar Convention, DANONE created a Water Sources Environment Protection Fund which aims to:
- Raise awareness of water issues with decision makers
- Make local populations aware of water management importance
- Share best practices in the management of natural sites
Schools for the protection of water
Evian has always protected its water sources and for the last 15 years has worked closely with its local community through APIEME (Association pour la Protection de l’Impluvium des Eaux Minérales d’Evian). For the last 10 years Evian has also backed the Ramsar Convention with its Les Ecoles de Protection de l’Eau (Schools for the protection of water).
These schools are an integral part on DANONE’s on-the-ground work to preserve local ecosystems, and they develop training programs to:
- Improve the sustainable management of our water resources
- Provide the very latest technical expertise on water management
- Advise on working in harmony with the traditional practices of local populations
It is through initiatives like this that DANONE can actively promote and encourage the conservation and rational use of all our water sources, worldwide.