New Zealand's first carbon zero milk launched

Photo / File

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Fonterra and Foodstuffs North Island have got together and released New Zealand's first carbon zero milk.

Simply Milk, which hit the supermarket shelves this week, is also a first for the southern hemisphere and one of only a handful of carbon zero milks in the world.

New Zealand was a great place for a carbon zero milk as Fonterra farmers already produced some of the lowest emissions milk in the world, Managing Director for Co-operative Affairs at Fonterra Mike Cronin said.

"It's all about carbon zero certification," Cronin told The Country Sport Breakfast's Lee Piper.

"You measure the emissions right through the supply chain ... we get a bit of help from our friends at AgResearch. They look at the carbon emissions from farm right through to the customer's fridge."

After this process the emissions are evaluated and certified by Toitū Envirocare and then offset with carbon credits.

Listen below:

Half of the carbon credits will be used to support the regeneration of a block of native forest near Kaikoura and the other half will go to projects in India and Bangladesh, Cronin said.

Also in today's interview: Cronin talked about how Fonterra farmers are reducing emissions on-farm.