Agriculture accounts for nearly half of New Zealand’s emissions, with dairy farming contributing significantly to this total. While Synlait Milk has built a reputation for supporting sustainable practice, Synlait’s suppliers alone are responsible for over 80% of the company’s carbon footprint. With over 200 milk suppliers, Synlait’s sustainability strategy balances the realities of farming with the urgency of environmental action.
To address this challenge, Synlait partnered with CarbonCrop to pilot a solution that measures, monitors, and manages carbon sequestration and biodiversity within their farm-supplier network. The results of this pilot are helping Synlait build a scalable roadmap to align with their sustainability commitments and drive meaningful environmental outcomes.
The Challenge
Reducing agriculture’s impact on their business requires innovative approaches that balances environmental goals with operational realities. For Synlait, supporting their farm-suppliers in reducing emissions and restoring biodiversity is critical to achieving their sustainability targets.
“Tackling on-farm emissions is our most significant challenge. But without accurate tools to measure and track carbon removals, we couldn’t see the full picture,” explains Sarah McDonald, Head of Sustainability at Synlait. “To meet our sustainability commitments and support our suppliers, we needed a clear picture of what’s already happening on the ground and a way to scale this across our supply chain”
While the ultimate goal includes compliance with Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) FLAG guidance for net-zero alignment, Synlait needed to start with the basics: quantifying current carbon removals and biodiversity on supplier farms and proving the feasibility of scaling these insights.
The Pilot Programme
To lay the foundation for broader sustainability efforts, Synlait and CarbonCrop launched an 18-farm pilot focused on a subset of their Nestlé farm-supplier network. The programme focused on measuring and understanding existing forest carbon removals and biodiversity within their network.
Pilot Goals:
Provide a quantified estimate of ongoing carbon sequestration by forest type and maturity.
Identify and measure areas of native vegetation on farms.
Demonstrate the feasibility of scaling these efforts to Synlait’s wider supply chain.
By focusing on a limited number of farms, the pilot established proof-of-concept.
The Solution
CarbonCrop’s platform offered Synlait a scalable, efficient way to meet their pilot goals.
Remote Carbon Assessment
Driven by machine learning and remote sensing technology, Synlait used the CarbonCrop platform to measure forest cover and carbon sequestration across the 18 pilot farms. This approach avoided on-site visits, minimising disruption to farm-suppliers while delivering actionable data.
Integrated Planning Tools
The platform provided insights into existing vegetation, which helped Synlait identify areas of high biodiversity value. These insights can support future planning but are not yet tied to active planting projects.
Data-Driven Reporting
The pilot provided Synlait with data on carbon removals and biodiversity from the 18-pilot farms. The data validated CarbonCrop’s capability to provide actionable insights for future scaling towards their reporting goals.
The Results
The pilot programme delivered clear insights that Synlait can build on:
Proof of Concept for Carbon Insights at Scale The pilot demonstrated the CarbonCrop platform’s ability to generate robust, verifiable data, building confidence for scaling across their wider farm-supplier network.
Enhanced Reporting Confidence While the pilot was not designed to achieve compliance, its results support Synlait in proving the concept and planning for future integration of SBTi FLAG-aligned reporting as the programme expands.
Empowered Farm-suppliers During the pilot program, Nestlé farm-suppliers gained access to CarbonCrop tooling, gaining insights into their land's carbon potential, while contributing to Synlait’s environmental goals.
Why Synlait Chose CarbonCrop
“CarbonCrop’s platform gives us the tools to understand what’s happening on our supplier farms, plan for the future, and show our progress with confidence.” says Sarah.
Key reasons Synlait chose CarbonCrop:
Technology and Scalability A platform designed to grow alongside Synlait’s sustainability ambitions.
Actionable Insights Transparent data that builds trust with stakeholders and support in decision-making.
Farmer Engagement Tools that empower suppliers to adopt sustainable practices and engage with carbon opportunities.
Focus on Feasibility A pilot approach that minimised risks while providing proof of concept.
Looking ahead
With the successful completion of the pilot programme, Synlait is exploring how to scale this approach across its farm-supplier network, using insights from the pilot to refine strategies for carbon removals and biodiversity management. This includes aligning future efforts with net-zero goals, SBTi FLAG guidance, and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders like Nestlé.
“We’re proud to work with CarbonCrop to pioneer solutions that benefit our farm-suppliers, our customers, and the planet,” says David Williams, Head of On Farm Excellence at Synlait.
The pilot programme with CarbonCrop is the first step in Synlait’s broader journey to integrate nature-based carbon solutions and biodiversity into their supply chain. By focusing on feasibility and technology validation, Synlait is paving the way for meaningful environmental outcomes.
Want to learn more?
Visit carboncrop.com to see how we’re helping companies like Synlait achieve their sustainability goals.
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