Fonterra Receives Environmental Accolade

Media Release
1 November 2006

The Home of Anchor Milk and Fresh 'n' Fruity Receives Environmental Accolade

Waste reduction and milk saving projects have helped Fonterra's Takanini site win a national environmental accreditation.

The South Auckland site earned a Gold-level certification from Enviro-Mark, an environmental management system marketed and supported by Landcare Research.

Over the past two years, the site, which produces and distributes Anchor Milk and Fresh 'n' Fruity yoghurt, has cut back on its use of energy and water, achieved significant reductions in the quantity of solid waste it produces and has made a commitment to lending its support to environmentally sustainable products and services.

The achievement follows the site's successful completion of the EnviroSmart programme, a Landcare Research initiative sponsored by district and regional councils and Ministry for the Environment to assist businesses with the rollout of an eco-efficiency system.

Enviro-Mark's Grant Hunter said "the accreditation will help ensure that Fonterra is recognised as an environmentally responsible company, something which is increasingly expected by customers, allied businesses and the wider community."

Kristin Whitehead, Fonterra Brands New Zealand's Environment and Projects Engineer, said the award recognised the company's absolute commitment to continuously reviewing and improving its environmental practices.

"The Enviro-Mark certification is a nationally recognised environmental standard. To attain this award, we worked hard to achieve reductions in our use of energy, ingredients and packaging, all of which contributed to a substantial reduction in the quantity of waste produced by our Takanini site. We are very proud of the efforts of our Takanini team, and indeed of all our staff who work hard to ensure we remain focused on working in environmentally sustainable ways."

The Fonterra site was independently audited against the Gold-level requirements, which include systems to monitor and review environmental targets, a company-wide commitment to achieving the set environmental objectives and evidence of environmentally responsible site practices and procedures.

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