You can count on us to drive the future of sustainable dairy processing for generations to come

Future Focused

At Open Country we are committed to operating sustainably in every area of our business – environmentally, socially and economically.

From sourcing raw materials to investing in process improvements and new technology, we strive to be socially responsible and ethically focussed at every step, without compromising on product quality and food safety.

Our Culture

We foster a culture of quality and continuous improvement to ensure a sustainable future for food supply. This means that our team is always seeking smarter ways to operate through better processes and new technology, to being socially responsible and sourcing our raw materials ethically, without compromising on product quality and food safety.

Looking after our partners and communities, Open Country supports our farmer suppliers in understanding and meeting changes in legislation and their requirements (incl. Freshwater legislation and Famers GHG emissions requirements). We ensure they have the tools, resources and support to meet their environmental obligations.

Carbon Zero Programme 2050

Our Carbon Zero Programme 2050, reinforces our commitment to protect the natural environment and reduce the impact of our supply chain.

In 2020, moving away from a reliance on coal, we began using more renewable energy sources. The 13-megawatt electrode boiler used at our Awarua site pioneered electrification of process heat for dairy in New Zealand. Our two boilers at the Open Country Waharoa site have been successfully converted from coal to wood pellets. An additional 30-megawatt high-pressure electrode boiler and three high-temperature heat pumps in Awarua will result in a 41,115 tonnes of CO2-e reduction per year. As part of our Carbon Zero Programme 2050 we are strategically working towards being coal free by 2025, which will increase our emissions reduction to 72%. We are proud of the progress we’ve made so far.

Re-use, Recycle, Recover

We are committed to reducing our energy consumption and to upgrading our plants through engineering design improvements, so that we can capture, recycle and reuse heat, steam, hot water and chemicals at every source. We minimise any waste created from our operations by maximising the re-use, recycle and recovery of material from all production streams.

Our Awarua Electrode Boiler was the first of its kind to be used by a dairy company to supply steam to a milk powder dryer.

Supporting Our Farmers

Healthy cows on well-kept farms ensure the best quality milk is produced for our products. Open Country’s farmer suppliers have a strong focus on animal husbandry and care and are continually improving their practices.

In New Zealand, the most efficient producer of low-emissions dairy milk in the world*, we are committed to reducing emissions from agriculture through the He Waka Eke Noa programme. Open Country supports our farmer suppliers in achieving their targets under the Freshwater Legislation and Zero Carbon Bill. We ensure our farmer suppliers have the tools, resources and support to meet their environmental obligations.

*Andre Mazzetto, Shelley Falconer and Stewart Ledgard; Mapping the carbon footprint of milk for dairy cows; Agresearch Report for DairyNZ, RE450/2020/081 , February 2021

Clean Transportation

Our trucking operation only invests in Euro 6 technology to improve our freight footprint significantly. Euro 6-Standard milk tankers are less polluting and more fuel efficient.