lead the charge to empower a plant-based revolution

We can’t transform the whole global food system and change old eating norms on our own. We need a whole movement of businesses, NGOs, chefs, baristas, healthcare professionals, retailers, decision-makers, community leaders, youth, scientists and consumers, yeah, pretty much everyone – to succeed. Here are some of the things we did in 2021 to build and support this movement:

In Finland we wanted to support the 43% of Finns that reportedly want to eat more plant based, to do so. Because what’s stopping them? Our guess is: old norms. So, we took on the challenge of trying to change the idea of what is seen as normal and managed to reach 80% of the Finnish population with a discussion about the change to a more plant-based diet. Some highlights were a digital “cookalong” as well as collaborations with 28 food and non-food people including chefs, food bloggers, recipe banks and lifestyle and societal influencers.

We learned that in the Netherlands, a full 40% of people who eat breakfast are trying to keep their impact on the planet as low as possible in their daily lives. But of people who think of their food’s climate impact during meals, only 9% are most aware of it at breakfast compared to other meals. We recognized a new category of people — the Early-Bird Activists — who are willing to help the climate and make small, heroic, changes in their morning eating habits. Working with cafés, retailers and other partners, we encouraged people to take the Part Time Climate Activist Pledge and reduce their climate impact by switching to a plant-based diet. Learn more here.

CLIMATE FOOTPRINT AWARENESS IN RETAIL – CHINA
In China, we supported large retail customers as they worked to build consumer awareness of the climate footprints of food products. Collaboration with major global customers helps highlight the impact of food production and consumption on the planet and socializes the concept of product climate footprints.

In Sweden we recognized that some people want to go plant-based for the climate but struggle to do so. Why not start by going fully plant-based half of the time then? We suggested and got the help from one of Sweden’s most beloved actors, Dragomir Mrsic, to illustrate both the struggles and possibilities in changing your everyday behavior.

FARESHARE FOOD PARTNER - UNITED KINGDOM
In 2021, Oatly UK donated 53.8 tonnes of surplus plant-based product to 1,929 charities and contributed toward 128,000 meals for different community groups, as a leading food partner of the FareShare network. 

Oatly participated in the UN Climate Change Conference COP26, even though food wasn’t on the main agenda — or rather, because it wasn’t. Food accounts for about a third of the world’s total GHG emissions.* So that’s exactly why Oatly headed to Glasgow in 2021 to join with other thought leaders to discuss how companies can help transform agriculture and call for governments to take action to cut carbon in the food sector. So in the end, food ended up on the discussion table anyway. Even before the conference started, Oatly had supported plant-based alliances in several countries around the world in the UN’s Call for Action to national governments to advocate for predominantly plant-based food systems in their emission-reduction strategies. Now, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense to transform the next climate conference, COP27 in Egypt, into the “Food COP”? We think so.