{"id":13552,"date":"2016-11-04T17:42:30","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-new-wind-power-cow-backpacks-and-other-solutions-to-agricultural-methane-emissions\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:42:30","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:42:30","slug":"the-new-wind-power-cow-backpacks-and-other-solutions-to-agricultural-methane-emissions","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-new-wind-power-cow-backpacks-and-other-solutions-to-agricultural-methane-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"The new \u2018wind\u2019 power: Cow backpacks and other solutions to agricultural methane emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Zealand isn\u2019t a country that comes up very often in charts of top CO2 <\/sub>emitting countries, but one company\u2014Fonterra<\/strong>\u2014deserves special attention. Fonterra is New Zealand\u2019s largest company and employer, but to put its scale in a global perspective, consider that Fonterra accounts for 35% of global dairy exports,[1]<\/a> whereas Saudi Aramco, by way of comparison, accounts for 12% of global oil exports[2]<\/a>. Because cows produce both methane (a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2<\/sub>) and nitrous oxide (a GHG 300 times more potent than CO2<\/sub>), your average 1,300lb cow produces the equivalent of four tons of CO2<\/sub> each year<\/strong>. This explains why cows (dairy and otherwise) accounts for 18% of all anthropogenic GHG emissions, a figure more than GHGs produced from driving cars (sorry Elon).[3]<\/a> Given both the scale of Fonterra and the scale of the challenge posed by animal-sourced GHGs, few other companies have as much potential to combat climate change through supply chain sustainability and innovation.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

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Company context today<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fonterra is a dairy co-operative owned by its suppliers, who are dairy farmers. Its business model is to run the supply chain and manufacturing plants than transform raw milk into dairy commodities (like whole milk powder, butter and cheese), and then either sell these commodities to CPG food companies, or further process them into branded consumer goods sold through supermarkets. In total, Fonterra has over 10,000 farmers, sells over 4 million metric tons of dairy products and ~$13bn USD of sales.[5]<\/a>
\nSo far, the main impact of climate change on Fonterra has been political rather than regulatory or economic. New Zealand launched an Emissions Trading Scheme in 2008, but exempted its agriculture sector due to fears of losing market share to international competitors not subject to this type of increase in input costs. That said, Fonterra has been extensively criticized by Greenpeace[6]<\/a> and the New Zealand media[7]<\/a> for contributing nearly 20% to the country\u2019s total greenhouse gas emissions. In response, the company has audited the sustainability practices of its entire supply chain and committed to a 20% reduction in its carbon footprint by 2020. Specific initiatives launched so far include:<\/p>\n