Emmi Leads by Example
As a manufacturer of speciality cheeses, Swiss dairy group Emmi is now setting an example for environmental protection by investing in a high-performance photovoltaic system at its Platteville site in the state of Wisconsin in the US. With 1,600 panels installed on the roof, the system can cover 15% of the company’s electricity requirement. The annual reduction in CO2 emissions amounts to 500 tonnes.
The export of Swiss cheese to the US has decades of tradition. Since 2009, Emmi has also owned a cheese dairy in its most important foreign market. Emmi Roth USA dates back to 1911, when it was founded by the Swiss emigrant Otto Roth as Otto Roth & Company. Over the last 100 years, it has established itself as a supplier of speciality cheeses produced in Switzerland as well as in-house.
With its high-quality speciality cheeses, Emmi Roth focuses primarily on the requirements of discerning consumers, who are attaching growing importance to sustainably produced food. It was therefore obvious for Emmi to step up its environmental commitment at this company.
In September 2018, the 1,600-panel photovoltaic system was commissioned. It produces around 600 kilowatt hours of electricity per year and thus covers 15 % of the company’s electricity requirement. The remaining electricity will continue to be drawn from the local grid.
“We want to have the lowest possible carbon footprint we could have in the industry,” says Tim Omer, President and Managing Director of Emmi Roth.
