Chinese dairy company Yili is leading the way for Chinese food manufacturers as the country strives for carbon neutrality in 2060

China’s first zero-carbon factory Yili’s Yunnan facility received its zero-carbon certification from Bureau Veritas at the beginning of the year, following its successful completion of a carbon inventory assessment and passing the China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER). The factory has been reducing its energy consumption since 2015 and received a green electricity certificate in 2021.

Yili is the first Chinese dairy company to publicly commit to becoming carbon neutral after China announced its 2030/2060 climate goals and the company continues to accelerate the pace of its energy-saving and carbon reduction efforts. In the past 12 years, Yili has carried out corporate carbon inventory assessments, building a comprehensive data accounting system for energy and environmental protection.

Yili has also established a project for carbon neutrality in Inner Mongolia and by the end of 2021, 23 of the companies factories were rated ‘green factories’ by the ministry of industry and information technology. The company is the world’s only corporate representative from the ag and food sector to be in the UN’s first Corporate Net Zero Pathway report – created to guide and celebrate corporate efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.