In 2019, we continued our efforts to improve the wellbeing of the environment, animals and people.
“The globally exceptional situation caused by the coronavirus has shown that taking care of food security and sustainability are more important in the 2020s than perhaps ever before”, says Annikka Hurme, CEO.
Some highlights from the report:
Owned by dairy farmers – we pay operating profit to the farms
- Valio is a company owned by 4,700 Finnish milk producers, and we pay our operating profit to the dairy farms through the cooperatives.
- The milk price we paid remained higher than the average EU price.
Our climate work progressed
- Our goal is to cut milk’s carbon footprint to zero by 2035. Our work focuses on reducing reduce emissions, not offsetting them.
- Together with the Baltic Sea Action Group, we have trained 250 dairy farm entrepreneurs to become carbon farmers, we started using recycled plastic in our packaging, we developed a carbon footprint calculator, and we committed to setting scientifically assessed climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement.
- Our biggest challenges are related to recycling manure as fuel and decreasing emissions from peatlands drained from wetlands. We are working with our partners to explore solutions to these challenges.
Improving animal welfare
- In 2019, about 95 percent of the milk was from farms that receive a sustainability bonus. Preventive animal healthcare, like regular healthcare visits by a veterinarian, is one of the prerequisites for the bonus.
Finland’s most sustainable brand for the 7th time
- Finns ranked Valio as Finland’s most sustainable brand for the seventh time in the Sustainable Brand Index survey. People consider the Finnish origin of Valio’s products, animal welfare and sustainable packaging as especially important.
New products correspond with current trends
- Valio had a good year from the perspective of business operations. Net sales grew by about three percent to EUR 1,787 million. Many of our new products corresponded with current trends: PROfeel® puddings for the snack trend, Valio Oddlygood® for the demand for plant-based products, and Valio Eila™ NUTRI F+ milk powder for the nutritional needs of older people.
Read more about Valio’s year 2019:
Valio’s year 2019: exports up, moderate growth in net sales, and improvement in profitability
