Helsinki / FI. (pg) Finland’s Paulig Group has activated the second phase of its sustainable farming partnership with Sweden’s Lantmännen, a northern European agricultural cooperative. In phase two, Lantmännen has contracted about 20 farmers to supply Paulig with 17,000 tons of wheat flour cultivated in accordance with the program. This move expects to reduce the wheat flour climate impact by as much as 30 percent (2,300 tons of CO2). The wheat flour will be used to annually produce 400 million »Santa Maria« tortillas – baked at Paulig’s carbon neutral factory in Sweden – to meet Nordic and Baltic market demand.
Through Lantmännen’s program Farming of the Future:« Climate + Nature», Paulig will be provided with a more sustainable wheat. The program gives Swedish farmers the opportunity to adopt even more sustainable cultivation methods. Paulig and Lantmännen see this an important step in the right direction for agriculture, helping approximately 20 farms transition roughly 2,700 hectares to more sustainability-forward farming practices. This initiative covers 5,460 «skylark» plots and 109,000 square meters of flower zones, which is equivalent to 15 football fields. Harvesting will begin this Autumn, and products are expected to hit shelves in 2023. The partnership was announced in October 2021.
«This is a fantastic start to an incredibly important partnership. At Paulig, we believe that the food industry is a part of the climate solution. We’ve set ambitious global, science-based climate targets, and adopting more sustainable cultivation methods is one of the most valuable pieces of the puzzle. Working in close concert with our partners and farmers across the entire food value chain is helping Paulig to reduce the climate impact of its products – and to make more sustainable choices available to consumers. Our partnership with Lantmännen is one way we’re reducing Paulig’s greenhouse gas emissions from the value chain by 50 percent by 2030. We have only 8 harvests left until 2030, so we have to make everything count,» says Lea Rankinen, Director Sustainability + Public Affairs at Paulig.
Paulig has set very ambitious climate targets which have been approved by the Science-Based Target initiative and are aligned with the aim to limit the global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5°C. Lantmännen’s« Climate + Nature» program drives the implementation of more sustainable farming practices to meet the tough targets defined by the Paris Agreement.
«Our farmers and we are happy to be moving into the next phase of this partnership with Paulig. This is where we really start to make a difference, accelerating the transformation of food systems. The benefits are manifold. Not only are we meeting market demand for more sustainable products, but we’re also making it profitable for Swedish farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices. It will be exciting to follow the process until the products hit the shelves,» says Claes Johansson, Head of Sustainable Development at Lantmännen.
The cultivation methods used within the« Climate + Nature» program can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 30 percent by implementing climate-smart plant nutrition, fossil-free fuels and precision farming. Biodiversity is enhanced by so-called «skylark plots,» which are unseeded areas where birds can land and find food, flowering zones and chemical-free seed treatment.
Tortillas comprise Paulig’s largest product category, making this collaboration highly impactful from a sustainability perspective. Around 700,000 portions of «Santa Maria Tex Mex» are served each day across 40 markets.
«This partnership perfectly embodies our enduring legacy and unwavering commitment to innovation. For decades, «Santa Maria’s Tex Mex» products have brought friends and families together. By joining hands with Lantmännen and its farmers, we’re maintaining these cherished food traditions, while reducing our greenhouse gas emissions in a major value chain. We’re evolving to meet new demands and encouraging more positive consumer decisions. It’s win-win-win,» says Henrik Samuelson, SVP Scandinavia + Central Europe at Paulig.
