In addition, Lely is exploring the possibilities of capturing and offsetting CO2 emissions together with Lely farmers. Two pilot projects for this purpose are currently running in the Netherlands.
CO2 neutral in 2030
Lely aims to be CO2 neutral regarding its own business activities by 2030. To this end, Lely has defined a CO2 reduction plan in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. In addition, the company takes direct responsibility for its emissions in 2023 by offsetting all emissions from its own business activities this year. Lely achieves this by buying Carbon Removal Units (CRUs) through Acorn, an initiative of Rabobank. Each CRU represents one tonne of CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere. In 2023, Lely will offset around 7,200 tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
Lely is exploring the possibilities of also capturing and offsetting CO2 emissions together with Lely farmers. Two pilot projects are currently running in the Netherlands for this purpose: a project with ZLTO for farmers on mineral land and a project with Valuta voor Veen, aimed at farmers on peatland. In addition, Lely is eventually looking at projects worldwide.
Empowering small-scale farmers
Acorn helps small-scale farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America plant trees among their crops: so-called agroforestry. This ensures better resilience to climate change, more biodiversity, better soil quality and often higher food production.
Moreover, as these trees grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and retain it. Acorn measures the amount of CO2 stored and converts it into Carbon Removal Units of 1 tonne of CO2 that are sold to responsible companies. Of the sale price, 80% ultimately goes back to farmers.
In this way, the sale of CRUs is a positive incentive for farmers towards regenerative agriculture. Lely considers it important to support farmers in making their farms more sustainable and developing a future-proof model. In addition, by buying CRUs, Lely contributes to strengthening the position of small-scale farmers in Kenya.
Towards the Farm of the Future
Lely is proud to be the first Dutch company in the Food & Agri sector to partner with Acorn. This cooperation is an important step towards Lely's vision of the Farm of the Future, in which the company wants to contribute positively to the challenges of dairy farming through innovations. This vision centers on five impact areas, including improving farmers' earning models and making farming more sustainable. It is Lely's mission to work together with farmers towards a sustainable and future-proof dairy farming sector.
