Battle for milk
OPINION: Fonterra may be on the verge of selling its consumer business in New Zealand, but the co-operative is not keen on giving any ground to its competitors in the country.
Fonterra and Z were joined by Minister of Energy and Resources Simon Bridges, Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne and other dignitaries on Friday in celebrating the partnership at the cooperative's Edgecumbe site.
Fonterra chief operating officer global operations, Robert Spurway says the shift to biodiesel is part of a move towards greater efficiency and sustainability across all operations, and helping Z make cleaner burning biofuel available in New Zealand.
"With more than 550 tankers, our fleet can travel hundreds of thousands kilometres every day on New Zealand's roads. Our commitment as foundation partners for Z Energy's biodiesel project means the product will not only be available for our fleet, it also means Z can bring this innovative fuel to the pump for New Zealanders."
Spurway says the move to biodiesel has the potential to reduce emissions for the tankers using it by up to 4% each year, and the partnership is an important milestone for Fonterra.
"Our sustainability strategy addresses key efficiency and sustainability improvements, and sourcing clean energy alternatives is a big part of that. We also want to show our support for this kind of innovation so other New Zealanders can make good energy choices.
"Fuel burned for transport contributes up to 20% of New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions, so given our scale, it's important we play our part to help the environment. Moving to biofuel is one of the many projects we're engaged in, like our planting, water quality projects, and energy efficiency programmes - which all focus on environmental sustainability."
Fonterra will be the first company in New Zealand to adopt the new fuel, with Edgecumbe being the first of five Fonterra sites making the switch to the lower emission fuel in its tanker fleet.
