Organic food producer AUGA group has taken a major step towards sustainability by becoming the first fully private equity-owned company in the Baltic states to join the international initiative Business Ambition for 1.5°C. By becoming a member of the initiative, AUGA group has committed to reduce its net CO2 emissions to zero.
The initiative currently unites 495 companies worldwide, including many well-known multinationals. There are only 16 companies in the food production – agricultural production sector that have joined the initiative to date. Together with expert support, all these companies have set science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 eq.) across the entire value chain and will strive to achieve these changes by 2050. In its strategy published last year, AUGA group set a zero emissions target for as early as 2030, also committing to specific interim emission reduction targets by 2025. Importantly, after joining this initiative, the company’s targets will be audited by international experts.
“We have been involved in research and development for many years because we understand that, without innovation, there will be no change in agriculture – it will remain one of the most polluting sectors in the world. As a long-standing player in the sector, we are well aware of the impact of our activities on climate change, and we are committed to making innovations to tackle climate change and become a climate-neutral company. With this commitment, we reaffirm that we will continue our previous efforts and strive to be sustainable throughout the food chain. At the same time, we want to demonstrate that our objectives are scientifically sound, to provide even more confidence and transparency to all of AUGA group stakeholders and to be a leader in our sector,” says Kęstutis Juščius, CEO of AUGA group.
AUGA group’s strategy envisages the implementation of three innovation projects necessary to achieve sustainability in agriculture. The first project is the use of biogas and development of agricultural machinery, which will enable farm operations to run without fossil fuels. Manure produced in the cycle will, in its secondary role, be utilised both for fertilisation and as a source to produce biofuel. The second project developed by the company uses specialised feed technology, which will reduce methane emissions from ruminants per tonne of cow milk. The third innovation project is regenerative crop rotation. Using this method, part of cereal cultures will be substituted for leguminous grasses that have carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation qualities.
The international Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign is supported by the Science Based Targets initiative, the United Nations Global Compact initiative and the international non-profit coalition We Mean Business.
In 2021, AUGA group has also joined the UN Global Compact. By becoming a member of this agreement, AUGA group has committed itself to contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and reporting annually on it’s progress in these areas. The company had been devoting considerable attention to the Sustainable Development Goals even before it became a member of the initiative. AUGA group is currently contributing to seven of the UN Global Compact’s goals: zero hunger, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, promoting industry, innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production, climate action, and life on land.
On 19 April 2021, the company published its fourth Sustainability Report. In it, the company highlights its activities and achievements in the environmental, social and governance fields for 2020, as well as its future goals.