Agropur signs waste management deal with Cascades

By Jim Cornall

- Last updated on GMT

The project is part of Agropur’s corporate social responsibility effort, “Better Dairy. Better World.” Pic: ©Getty Images/petovarga
The project is part of Agropur’s corporate social responsibility effort, “Better Dairy. Better World.” Pic: ©Getty Images/petovarga

Related tags Circular economy Sustainability agropur

Canada’s Agropur Cooperative is introducing a program to recover inorganic waste at its 28 Canadian plants, in partnership with Cascades. The large-scale circular-economy project is a first in the Canadian dairy industry.

Agropur and Cascades have signed a five-year agreement to implement an environmentally friendly industrial waste management solution. This green project will harness a circular-economy model to reduce waste and recover inorganic materials generated by Agropur’s dairy processing plants.

Robert Coallier, CEO of Agropur, said, “Agropur is pleased to partner with Cascades in a major circular-economy initiative that will introduce an innovative industrial waste recovery system.

“This environmentally responsible program will be rolled out across all our Canadian plants over the next five years. We anticipate a 50-60% reduction in the amount of waste we send to landfill every year.”

Agropur’s circular-economy program will give a substantial quantity of inorganic waste a second life. Agropur will sell its industrial wastes to Cascades, which will transform them into recycled products, including cardboard boxes, which Agropur will buy back, and so on.

The project is part of Agropur’s corporate social responsibility effort, “Better Dairy. Better World.”

Sustainability and innovation

Coallier also spoke about sustainability and innovation when he addressed the 7th Annual Canadian Food & Drink Summit in Toronto on March 28.

Coallier presented the cooperative’s innovation strategy, saying dairy processors must adapt quickly to new market demands.

“Millennials have an unprecedented appetite for innovation. The dairy industry needs to create new experiences at a faster pace,”​ he said.

Today’s consumers look for transparency, social responsibility, authenticity and the product’s impact on the world when they make buying decisions, he added.

With the Inno Agropur platform, Coallier said, the cooperative has established a structure to generate new products more quickly. The platform’s Inno Challenge and Inno Accel components support open innovation and give promising start-ups an opportunity to develop their ideas.

“Innovation is now at the heart of Agropur’s mission because we believe it is an essential factor in our sustainability,”​ Coallier concluded.

Related topics Manufacturers Sustainability