Tirol Milch: First climate-positive dairy!

Wörgl, 22.02.21: The fact that environmental protection is a top priority at Tirol Milch has been known to many consumers since Tirol Milch also introduced milk in returnable glass bottles. The Tirol Milch dairy in Wörgl is one of the most sustainable dairies in Europe, also due to many other measures, and is now also officially climate-positive!

The Tirol Milch dairy in Wörgl is one of the most modern and sustainable milk processing factories in Central Europe - a fact that is reflected in numerous measures: While water use is strictly monitored and optimized, any wastewater produced is treated directly in the factory's own wastewater treatment plant. In addition to the use of energy from photovoltaic systems, which has already been implemented for years, Wörgl also relies on renewable raw materials with a biomass heating plant. The wood chips for this plant come from Tyrolean forests. The owners of the farmers' dairy cooperative not only supply the milk for the Tirol Milch specialties, but the wood for a large part of the dairy's energy or steam supply also comes from their forests. To ensure that no heat is left unused, together with the Wörgl public utility company, the possibility was also found of using waste heat from production to supply the equivalent of 640 Wörgl households with energy. And the introduction of milk in returnable glass bottles is also an expression of Tirol Milch's sustainable thinking.

"Regional economic cycles are more important than ever and they are also successful. This is shown very well by the example of our Tirol Milch dairy in Wörgl, where we refine about 80% of the entire Tyrolean milk supply regionally into the best domestic dairy products," says Managing Director of Berglandmilch/Tirol Milch DI Josef Braunshofer. Since the milk-supplying farmers are the sole owners of the company, the proceeds from the sale of Tirol Milch articles, flow back to the farms. In contrast to anonymous imported products, the added value remains in the country and the domestic economic cycle is strengthened.

And it's not just in their dairy that farmers pay attention to sustainability. They are also pioneers in sustainability on their farms. For example, Tirol Milch farmers work 100% GMO-free, do not use the controversial pesticide glyphosate, feed their animals with local fodder and under no circumstances with fodder that does not come from Europe, such as palm oil or soy. Tirol Milk cows do not eat rainforest.
According to the principle of the "Clean Development Mechanism" described in the Kyoto Protocol, greenhouse gases that are produced in one place on earth and cannot be avoided, no matter how small, are to be saved by climate protection projects in another place.

The emission quantities still remaining at Tirol Milch are compensated by investments in a climate protection project in Asia. And because the amount of emissions at Tirol Milch is so small, the climate protection project has compensated for many times the emissions generated by the dairy. And that for years to come. This is why Tirol Milch was rightly named Austria's first climate-positive dairy.

Tirol Milch and Berglandmilch eGen:
Tirol Milch is part of Berglandmilch, the largest Austrian milk processing and distribution company with nine locations. Berglandmilch is wholly owned by 10,000 dairy farmers, nearly 3,000 of them from the Tyrol. Rural tradition combined with holistic quality thinking and the courage to go new and forward-looking ways are reflected in diverse and innovative products. www.berglandmilch.at

Copyright notice image attachments: © Berglandmilch eGen

Enquiry notice:
Elisabeth Haimberger, BA
elisabeth.haimberger@berglandmilch.at
+43 664 8393 651