Chr. Hansen Further Reduces its Carbon Footprint

Supporting Chr. Hansen’s pursuit of sustainable enterprise a carbon neutral shipments program pays off.

11/06/09 One year after partnering with DHL Express on sending “GOGREEN” carbon neutral shipments, Chr. Hansen has offset a total of 92 ton of CO2. The CO2 was offset mainly through investing in high-quality external climate protection projects: A hydroelectric plant in Brazil, re-planting of a forest in Costa Rica, and solar panels for electricity production in India and Sri Lanka. The premium for sending GOGREEN shipments with DHL Express is 2% on base transportation charge.

“The 92 ton of CO2 offset with the GOGREEN service equals the emission from a car driving around the globe 10 times. That in itself is not a lot for a global company but it is really only one of many carbon footprint reducing efforts made by Chr. Hansen,” says Claus Johansen, Shipping Manager, Global Logistics, Chr. Hansen.

CO2 emissions a major focus area
”Reduction of our carbon footprint in the form of CO2 emissions is a major focus area for us,” explains Henriette Oellgaard, CSR Manager, Chr. Hansen. “We work with a range of instruments to continuously improve our own and our customers’ resource efficiency. One tool is the switch to more environmentally efficient energy sources. Another is the development of high performing products improving customers’ yield while reducing resource consumption. A third example is moving closer to the customer,” Oellgaard says.

When Chr. Hansen moved the production of cultures from one continent to another—closer to the customer—the annual CO2 emission was reduced by approximately 1,800 tons equal to the emission of 180 households per year.
The transport chain was reduced significantly, eliminating the need for transcontinental transportation by airplane. Also the need for transportation by truck is considerably reduced.

Producing more with less
In 2008 Chr. Hansen’s total energy consumption decreased by 6% in spite of increased business activity. Although business activity increased Chr. Hansen reduced its consumption of raw materials and energy in 2008 hereby reducing its impact on the environment. At the same time the total amount of waste water and solid waste decreased together with the emission of CO2. In addition there has been a shift towards the more environmentally friendly natural gas, while the consumption of oil was reduced.