MEAT PROCESSOR Dunbia has committed to delivering a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its own facilities and from the generation of the energy it purchases, by 2030.

The commitment comes in the wake of COP25 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid where political, business and NGO leaders sought to coordinate a collective response to global warming.

In May this year, the Dawn Meats Group, which includes Dunbia in the UK, signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative, becoming the first European beef and lamb processor to make such a commitment. Dunbia CEO Niall Browne stated: “We have been working for more than 10 years to reduce emissions internally and more widely across our supply chain and we recognise the urgency to adopt even more aggressive measures to reduce emissions.

"We are working with stakeholders in collaborative projects to accelerate progress in this critical area. Achieving reductions of up to 30% in our greenhouse gas emissions poses a considerable challenge, but it is vital that Dawn accelerates the rate of change in the environmental footprint of its business.”

Group head of sustainability Gill Higgins commented: “Dawn Meats Group recognises that any sustainable targets and solutions to global warming must be grounded in science. The approval of our targets by SBTi is a significant first step towards a smaller emissions footprint and we will continue to stretch our ambition in the years to come.”