The courage to act responsibly

The past year was characterised by challenging markets and rapid changes. Despite this dynamic, we kept sight of our corporate objectives and were able to make significant progress in our different divisions. Several investment projects were successfully implemented. The commissioning of a new spray-drying tower at the Uelzen site is just one example of how the Uelzena Group has succeeded in responding to rising demand using new technologies, processes and quality measures, without neglecting longer-term environmental challenges. The independence of the Uelzena Group and its sustainable performance to achieve a competitive milk payout for its milk producers is, and will remain, the ultimate goal in our corporate strategy. Our cooperative and its subsidiaries’ positive economic figures for the past few years reflect this performance and the potential of our company group. 

A special focus continues to be on increasing our sustainability activities, not only in relation to milk production, but also across the entire supply and production chain. Our sustainability team has been strengthened to meet the rising legal and customer requirements as well as the future requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Sustainability has long been more than a trend; it is an essential part of our strategy in the Uelzena Group and we firmly believe that acting responsibly also creates economic added value. 

The core theme of sustainable milk production is to record and improve milk's carbon footprint in addition to recording and reporting the overall sustainability criteria as part of the QM Dairy Sustainability Tool. Regionally, as a company in Lower Saxony, we are working harder to record the emissions of our individual facilities with even greater precision, making it quick and easy to identify specific areas where there is potential for reduction. At the same time, Uelzena is working on concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its dairy farms. For instance, the company is trialling approaches to silage management in a pilot project that will be both financially worthwhile for dairy farms and make a positive contribution to the greenhouse gas balance. We wish to build on these types of approaches in the future as climate-friendly milk production is only possible if commercial viability is one of the four cornerstones of sustainable milk production.

The Uelzena Group, as a cooperative with its milk producers and all employees, continues to have the courage to forge ahead with positive changes – in keeping with the title of this year’s sustainability report: Our future. Our responsibility. 

Jörn Dwehus

Chairman of the Board of Uelzena eG