Danone is working to develop and promote regenerative models of agriculture that protect soils, empower farmers and promote animal welfare.
At Danone, agriculture is at the heart of what we do. We are proud to maintain close relationships with over 58,000 farmers worldwide.
But today, agriculture is at the center of a number of major challenges, from climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss and economic development. There is increasing consensus amongst peers, scientists, policy makers and NGOs that globally we need to embrace a different approach to farming, one that can transform agriculture from a challenge to a solution.
As a food company, Danone is determined to do our part to help overcome these challenges by adopting agricultural models that can regenerate the planet, while feeding a global population that is set to surpass 9 billion people by 2050.
In November 2017, Danone announced its intention to sharpen its focus on regenerative agriculture, which we define as an outcome-based holistic approach to farming with 3 dimensions – planet, people and animals - which when adopted under the right conditions can maximise agriculture’s benefits: protecting and improving soil health, biodiversity, water resources and climate, strengthen animal welfare and supporting farming resilience and long-term profitability.
To refine our approach, Danone worked with WWF France, field technicians, and a diverse group of environmental and agricultural experts, to create the Danone Regenerative Agriculture Scorecard, and the Danone Environmental Handbook, to define regenerative best practices and create guidance for implementation for our farmer partners. This is a fundamental step toward ensuring that we are transparent about what regenerative farming is and how it is being implemented.
Danone France is already leading the way, as it committed to source 100% of ingredients produced in the country from regenerative agriculture by 2025.
In June 2021, Danone launched the Danone Regenerative Agriculture Knowledge Center, an open source website dedicated to sharing the wealth of regenerative agriculture knowledge we have at Danone, irrespective of type of production (fresh milk, soy, almonds, oats, fruits, vegetables and cereals) with our farmers, farm advisors, field technicians and technical partners.
Available in 10 languages, the Danone Regenerative Agriculture Knowledge Center showcases agriculture projects and best practices Danone and its partners are implementing in the field, as well as thematic factsheets, case studies, web-talks and testimonials from the farmers we work hand-in-hand with every day!
Cooperation with farmers and animal welfare
We support regional milk production and source our milk from farmers in the vicinity of our production site. We have been working in a reliable partnership with some of our farmers for many generations.
An important aspect of this partnership is the welfare of the animals that provide us with the milk for our products. For example, Danone's animal welfare criteria have been in place for many years and are part of our quality assurance program. These animal welfare criteria ensure that the farmers from whom we obtain the milk pay attention to the welfare of the animals at all times. First and foremost, this includes species-appropriate husbandry that gives the animals the opportunity to live out their natural behavior patterns and at the same time benefit from the protection of the barn.