Avoided emissions, supporting our customers with their emissions targets
Our products can enable our customers to transition to a low-carbon economy through an inherently lower carbon footprint, or by helping our customers and end-users reduce their own emissions. The latter are referred to as ‘Avoided emissions’ – emissions-related environmental benefits that occur downstream in the use phase of our products. While avoided emissions do not count toward our own Science Based Targets or net-zero target, they result in reduced emissions for others in our value chain.
The rapid reduction of methane emissions from energy, agriculture, and waste is increasingly recognized as the most effective near-term climate mitigation measure, to limit global warming to 1.5˚C. In 2022, 150 countries signed up to the Global Methane Pledge, a collective effort launched at COP26 in 2021, to reduce global methane emissions at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
Customers for our animal nutrition business have increasing commitments for emission reduction, for example, through the Global Dairy Platform and Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the Science Based Targets Initiative. Our innovative solution Bovaer® is a feed additive that reduces enteric methane emissions, by suppressing the enzyme that combines the metabolic hydrogen and carbon dioxide generated by cows from digesting tough, fibrous food.
According to the latest meta-analysis based on 14 independent studies, Bovaer® can save about one ton CO2eq per dairy cow every year. Bovaer® is authorized and available for sale in over 45 countries, including the EU/EEA, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, Switzerland, and Turkey. Our on-farm trials and up-scaling pilots cover already more than 15 countries and are published in more than 50 peer-reviewed scientific studies. Through these trials alone, Bovaer® has already saved more than 20 kt CO2eq.
In November 2022, we reached another milestone, with the groundbreaking of the new large-scale production facility for Bovaer® in Dalry, Scotland. This plant will scale up the methane reduction impacts Bovaer® can realize.
Primary energy is energy that has not yet been subjected to a human engineered conversion process. It is the energy contained in unprocessed fuels.
Final (consumed) energy is the energy that is consumed by end-users. The difference between primary energy and final consumed energy is caused by the conversion process between the two as well as any transmission losses.
