2021’S SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND TOTAL SUCCESSES
We want to help create a food system shift towards more plant-based diets, displacing one dairy product at a time. Like with any transformation, there are both successes and challenges, scroll down for the annual update on ours.
FAST GROWTH,
LARGE IMPACT
It was another disruptive year for everyone. International conflicts, the endless COVID saga, and impassioned climate marches made the need for change on many fronts feel as urgent as it felt overwhelming. We stayed focused on the positive change we believe an oat company can help create: the necessary plant-based shift in the food system.
In 2021, we continued to grow fast. We added 50,000+ locations as distribution points. We doubled the number of Oatly-operated factories and the size of our organization, and the volumes of liters produced went up 57% globally, bringing plant-based options to millions of more people around the world.
We say this with some pride, because the science is clear* — to tackle climate change, we must shift the food system, and moving from current diets to more plant-based can have a transformative impact. To shift the food system, we need to disrupt old norms with more plant-based products. But with rapid growth and expansion comes challenges, including an 77% increase in our corporate climate footprint. We are determined to identify innovative sustainability solutions to these challenges and continue to work toward our 2029 sustainability ambitions.
At Oatly we are over 1,600 humans with sustainability as one of our core values, and we aim to drive a systemic shift in society — in the ways people eat, food is produced, and the planet is treated — where people can make small changes, like switching to plant-based foods, that improve their lives and ensure a healthy planet for future generations. These small actions can be multiplied to create a plant-based movement. We aim to empower that movement by driving change throughout our value chain with these three pillars of action:
Drive a food system shift
Find out more about our work in 2021 together with farmers, scientists and other partners to drive a shift toward more sustainable, low-emission practices in the areas at the core of our business: oats, our suppliers and packaging.
SET THE EXAMPLE AS A FUTURE COMPANY
Read about the impact our 2021 operations had on our energy use, water use and transportation, how we managed our waste and our continued efforts to make sure Oatly is a great place to work.
LEAD THE CHARGE TO EMPOWER A PLANT-BASED REVOLUTION
See how we used our voice and initiatives to empower change, influence policy and human behavior and galvanize the global movement towards a more plant-based food system, in 2021.
“2021 signaled, more than ever before, the urgent need for a fundamental shift in society – how we interact, how we eat and how we do business. If we have any chance to tackle climate change and make progress toward critical sustainable development goals, such as Responsible Production and Consumption and Climate Action, we must shift the food system toward one that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, builds biodiversity, benefits farmers and is overall better for people the planet. Business and finance must drive this shift, and governments must step up to set the new rules of the road.”
Ashley Allen, Chief Sustainability Officer
For details of our sustainability plan and 2029 ambitions!
Check out Ashley’s to-do-list
A Note regarding forward-looking statements >
A Note regarding forward-looking statements >
This site (the “2021 Sustainability Summary”) contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations and objectives and our environmental, social and governance goals, which involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated depending on a variety of important factors, including without limitation the risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In relation to the 2021 Sustainability Summary, we are (wholly or in part) reliant on public sources of information and information provided by our own suppliers and business partners. Therefore, such information is provided on a reasonable efforts basis and is subject to change.