Danone: Tackling Dairy Methane with Sustainable Procurement
Danone is placing procurement at the centre of its sustainability agenda within its African dairy operations.
The company is using its sourcing strategies as a tool to lower emissions, provide support for farmers and build resilience in its supply chain.
As methane continues to be a major issue in dairy farming, Danone is shifting its focus beyond on-farm interventions and is aligning its procurement systems with wider climate and development objectives.
This approach means Danone is not just sourcing milk in a sustainable manner but is also actively influencing its suppliers' operations, the formation of partnerships and the creation of value throughout the supply chain.
Procurement-led methane reduction
Methane emissions from dairy are a notable contributor to global greenhouse gases.
Fresh milk alone is responsible for approximately 70% of Danone’s emissions related to dairy.
In response Danone is developing a Dairy Methane Action Plan that originates from its procurement strategy.
This includes focused engagement with suppliers, the collection of emissions data and a strong emphasis on the adoption of technology with low emissions.
A key element of this procurement-led strategy is the 2025 agreement with Sistema.bio, which aims to provide biodigesters to 6,500 smallholder farmers by 2030.
These systems process livestock manure converting it into biogas and fertiliser.
This process reduces methane emissions and creates useful resources for farm operations, forming part of Danone’s commitment to integrating low-carbon practices into its supplier base.
By incorporating technologies like biodigesters into its relationships with suppliers Danone connects its procurement directly to environmental results.
“The biodigester technology... allows us to use the processed liquid as natural fertiliser in our fields dedicated to cereals and legumes or fodder mix and it has shown extremely positive results,” says Othmane Essaker, a Moroccan dairy farmer supported through the programme.
Tools such as the Cool Farm Tool also assist farmers in collecting data, monitoring emissions and optimising their operations in accordance with contractual targets.
This results in a sourcing model where environmental performance is a component of supplier responsibility.
Danone’s objective is to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply by 30% by 2030.
As of 2024, it has achieved a 25.3% reduction against its 2020 baseline, a development that could show clear alignment between procurement policies and climate action.
Developing supply chain infrastructure
Beyond its emission targets Danone’s procurement model also facilitates investment in both physical and digital infrastructure.
In markets such as Nigeria and Morocco, where smallholder farmers are crucial to milk production, procurement serves as a channel for broader development.
Sourcing contracts are increasingly being linked with supplier development, farmer training and logistics support.
Morocco’s “Hlib Bladi” programme is an example of this.
The initiative enhances sourcing consistency by providing suppliers with technical training, investment in the cold-chain and digital systems.
Farmers get training on feed, herd and manure management while milk collection centres are modernised with cold storage and digital tracking.
These enhancements allow Danone to obtain higher quality milk and minimise spoilage while also increasing farmer incomes by 50%.
In Nigeria Danone continues its investment in the dairy sector despite economic instability, viewing long-term procurement relationships as a way to foster market growth and resilience.
Aligning suppliers through partnerships
Danone is also broadening its procurement strategy through strategic partnerships that align supplier operations with global standards.
Danone's memorandum of understanding with Sistema.bio is one such example.
Danone has also co-founded the Dairy Methane Action Alliance, which helps coordinate climate action across the dairy sector.
Currently more than 82% of Danone’s dairy suppliers by volume are part of the Sustainable Dairy Partnership.
This initiative aligns procurement with the Science Based Targets initiative and obliges suppliers to commit to shared climate goals, report emissions data and improve their practices over time creating a collective responsibility for outcomes across the supply chain.
Danone also invests in building the capacity of its suppliers including support for genomic testing to enhance herd resilience, optimising feed to lessen enteric fermentation and improving manure handling processes.
These methods improve both productivity and environmental performance, all linked back to Danone’s purchasing framework.
By connecting supplier support to methane reduction using its purchasing power to encourage technology adoption and forging long-term partnerships centred on climate goals Danone establishes a procurement-led model for sustainable dairy supply chains.
