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PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT — RAW MATERIALS AND PACKAGING
Controlling the impact of
upstream supply
The company’s environmental impact is not limited to the product-manufacturing phase alone.
Key factors upstream must also be controlled, such as raw materials selection and the conditions
under which those materials are produced.
5key stages in the life cycle of
Bel products have a significant
impact on the environment
(see diagram).
From raw material production
to consumption
The environmental impact of cheese
making varies according to the recipe
used for the cheese, how and where it is
produced, and even the type of
packaging it employs. The Group
conducted a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of
its five core brands, enabling it to
identify four main environmental
Logistics and
transport.
40 • Bel Group 2011
Packaging
end-of-life.
The fi ve stages
of Bel’s product
life cycle
that have an
environmental
impact
impacts, including water consumption,
non-renewable energy use, greenhouse
gas emissions, and waste generation.
Upstream dairy farming
Raw materials production and delivery
have the greatest environmental impact
in Bel’s product life cycle, representing
more than 60% of water consumption
and non-renewable energy use, and 75%
of greenhouse gas emissions. Aware of
its responsibility and the role it can play,
the Group encourages producers to
improve their farming practices through
its dairy policy. In particular, the Group
Raw materials
production and
delivery.
Packaging
raw materials
production and
transport to
our plants.
Cheese
manufacturing
and packaging.
provides information about new
environmental challenges and supports
efforts to improve environmentally
friendly techniques. Bel engineers and
technicians work with dairy producers in
the Netherlands, France, Portugal,
Slovakia, and Ukraine, providing
assistance and advice in the areas of
sustainable production quality and
environmental issues specifically related
to the dairy industry. Bel’s dairy
producers in France and the
Netherlands, which together account for
80% of the Group’s milk supply, have
signed a charter of best farming
Over 75%
of greenhouse gas emissions
are related to the production
and delivery of raw
materials