Aurora Organic Dairy, Boulder, Colo., published its 2019 Sustainability Report, which provides a detailed and transparent update on the company and its progress toward goals to improve its sustainability performance around animals, people and planet.

The company announced updated goals that encompass three key areas:

• Caring for the comfort and well-being of its cows and calves, always putting animal care at the forefront of farming practices.
• Employee safety and wellness and local community support.
• Commitments to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, water efficiency and waste reduction, and one new goal to commit to 100% carbon-neutral energy by the end of 2020.

“At Aurora Organic Dairy, we have a longstanding commitment to continuous improvement when it comes to our animals, people and planet,” says Scott McGinty, chief executive officer. “While we are proud of our achievements, in today’s world, we cannot rest. We must continue to do more to support our animals and people, the environment and our local communities. Our updated sustainability goals strengthen this commitment.”

The company’s sustainability goals – established against 2012 baseline data – include the following iniatives:  

• Aurora Organic Dairy farms improved the overall welfare of its animals through goals to reduce lameness, to perform fewer dehorning procedures, to use paired calf housing and to increase video monitoring.
• Made significant progress toward people goals with increased training programs, communications around the value of benefits, bilingual communication and community centers in remote farm locations. Going forward, Aurora Organic Dairy will continue its focus on safety and employee volunteerism.
• For the planet, Aurora Organic Dairy achieved significant reductions in water and energy. Its milk plant achieved a 71% solid waste landfill diversion rate, and normalized GHG emissions were down 11%. The company is committed to reducing GHG emissions by 30% by 2025. Given the urgent need to address climate change globally, Aurora Organic Dairy has made an important commitment to 100% carbon-neutral energy by the end of 2020.

“This last year was a milestone for Aurora Organic Dairy in terms of environmental stewardship,” says Craig Edwards, director of sustainability. “We installed solar arrays at our High Plains and High Ridge Dairies in Gill, Colo., and we committed to 100% carbon-neutral energy by the end of 2020. To get there, we will invest in renewable energy projects directly and will support additional projects by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates and Verified Emission Reductions to address 100% of our electricity and fuels use across our company farms, raw milk transport, milk plants and headquarters.”