Valio’s sustainability report 2019 has been published
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
Interview and call requests through Valio Mediadesk mediadesk@valio.fi
Valio - The world’s most innovative dairy and food company
Valio’s mission is to create wellbeing and taste sensations in a responsible way. We make tasty products from milk and many other ingredients; we bring delightful tastes, variety and joy to the food table. We also carry out important roles in society: ensuring food security, enhancing public health and improving animal welfare are some examples of our impacts. In line with our mission, we are making life better. This is also the conclusion of the Finns who have chosen Valio as Finland’s most sustainable brand for seven consecutive years.
4,700 Finnish dairy farmers own Valio through cooperatives. We pay out all the profits to our milk producers through the milk price. We employ a total of 25,000 people at dairy farms. Valio has 4,000 professionals at work from different sectors and we listen to consumers with our more than 100 years of experience.
Nobel Laureate A.I. Virtanen’s legacy continues to live on with us. When he headed Valio’s laboratories, the concept of improving the wellbeing of people took root as our guiding principle. We turn science into products that make life better. Consumers in more than 60 countries enjoy Valio products, and we have 350 patents for our innovations around the world. We are Finland’s biggest food exporter and a trailblazer for the whole food industry. Valio’s sales in 2019 were EUR 1,787 million.
