Kerry Group CEO Edmond Scanlan, speaking to investors in the wake of the announcement of the proposal for Kerry Co-op to buy Kerry Dairy Ireland, said that the deal would “enhance the group’s sustainability profile” and chief financial officer Marguerite Larkin said it would lead to a “notable reduction in our carbon footprint”.

Basically, with Kerry Group getting a load of farmers off its supplier books it is reducing the Group’s Scope 3 emissions – these are calculated as the emissions from the production of the products (milk from cows) it purchases.

In 2023, Kerry’s Scope 3 emissions totalled 8.8m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The group said “dairy is the single largest contributor to our Scope 3 emissions”.

It is important to note that while Kerry Group will be able to report a very significant reduction in its Scope 3 emissions in 2025 if the deal is passed, there is no direct cost or saving for the Group from the removal of the millions of tonnes of carbon from its sustainability report – it will just look better.

Likewise, for Kerry Dairy Ireland, the adding of several million tons of carbon to its Scope 3 emissions will have no direct effect on its profit and loss account under current rules.

When questioned about the issue of carbon emissions, Jim Woulfe, adviser to the board of Kerry Co-op told members gathered in Dingle on Monday for an information meeting about the deal, that Kerry Dairy Ireland’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 470,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent and were on track to be reduced to 47% of their 2017 level by 2030. He said Scope 3 was an issue for “inside the farm gate”.