The French food company has overtaken Danone to claim the top spot, moving from fourth place to first since the previous report.
According to the foundation, the rankings demonstrate the importance of collective action.
The Methane Action Tracker provides regular assessments on the methane action of the largest food companies from disclosing methane emissions to setting reduction targets and implementing action plans.
Members of the Dairy and Methane Action Alliance (DMAA), which was created to to accelerate dairy methane emissions reduction across dairy supply chains, now achieve an average 61.4%, up from 45.9% since May 2026, compared to just 22.3% for non-members, down from 23.5%.
Founding members of DMAA include Bel Group, Danone, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Lactalis USA and Nestlé.
Danone (79.5%) slipped to second place, while Nestlé , which exited DMAA in October 2025, has fallen from sixth place to ninth place.
Nestle has insisted that it remains committed to its Dairy Climate Plan and Net Zero Roadmap.
In this latest report the largest gains came from new joiners with Agropur increasing its score from 15% to 61%, while Idaho Milk Products (37% to 60%) and Savencia (22% to 60%) both saw significant improvements.
However, the tracker also said that the performance among the dairy co-operatives it assessed was “lagging overall.”
Fourteen of the 23 dairy and coffee companies assessed now have a livestock methane action plan, up from ten since the last report. However, the tracker said that only two, Danone and Groupe Bel, have set reduction targets aligned with the Global Methane Pledge, which aims for reduction of 30% compared to 2020 levels.
Danone, which regards methane cuts as “the most immediate opportunity” to slow warming, has reduced emissions by 29.8% against 2020 levels, the report revealed.
The report also raised concern about the role of retailers in shaping the demand that drives dairy and meat production.
According to the Changing Markets Foundation not one of the 20 assessed reports from major retailers had a methane or a reduction target, and seven did not even recognise methane as an issue.
Tesco and Lidl ranked joint first, at 43.5%. Sainsbury’s and Intermarché recorded the larges moves, up just 7 and 8 percentage points respectively.
The report added that US retailers trail their European counterparts, with none improving since the previous edition.
Maddy Haughton-Boakes, Campaign Manager at Changing Markets said: “Targets, reporting and accountability are not a box-ticking exercise: they deliver results. Frontrunners Bel Group and Danone prove what can be done, and DMAA members outperform non-members by roughly 3 to 1.
“Beyond the broader climate responsibility, companies with an eye on the future know reporting and acting on methane is a way of managing climate risk before it hits your balance sheet. The rest of the sector needs to follow suit”.
