Cream of the environmental crop - Business In The Community

Cream of the environmental crop

Pritchitts aims to meet its ambition of being a regenerative company by 2040 by concentrating its sustainability efforts across three aims: Being carbon positive, Wasting nothing; and Enhancing the environment

The business issue

How participation in the NI Environmental Benchmarking Survey has helped to drive environmental improvements within the company.

What Pritchitts did

Pritchitts, a Lakeland Dairies Company, manufactures ultra-heat treated (UHT) dairy and dairy alternative products at its Newtownards-based operation.

Lakeland Dairies, which has two dairy processing sites in Northern Ireland, is a leading farmer-owned dairy co-operative with a heritage of over 120 years in dairy farming and milk processing. It is a global supplier of dairy foodservice products and food ingredients.

It brings together over 800 family farms, producing 600 million litres of high-quality, sustainable, pasture-based milk in Northern Ireland. The cooperative has also been a longstanding champion for the sustainability of its farmers, their farms, and their communities.

Pritchitts aims to meet its ambition of being a regenerative company by 2040 by concentrating its sustainability efforts across three aims:

  • Being carbon positive
  • Wasting nothing; and
  • Enhancing the environment

This strategy recognises the need to address each step of its value chain – from farmers to factories and customers – and sets five-year sustainability targets that align with the business’ planning cycle and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Healthy, safe and prosperous

In June 2018, Lakeland Dairies in Northern Ireland became the first dairy processor to secure a voluntary Prosperity Agreement with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The agreement aims to improve environmental and business outcomes for both organisations and sets commitments to deliver ambitious advancements in resource and energy efficiency, and reductions in carbon emissions from factory operations.

The Agreement will help the cooperative as a business, and across its sphere of influence, to respond positively to key environmental challenges. One of the most important aspects of the Agreement is its commitment to work with NIEA and the wider units in DAERA, as well as with farmers to identify ways to reduce ammonia emissions arising from dairy farms.

It also reinforces Lakeland Dairies work to help farmers better understand land quality and nutrient requirements and to continue their support for biodiversity and habitat protection.