McDonald’s joins Arla’s FarmAhead partnership to drive sustainability, boost biodiversity and strengthen soil health across 60 UK dairy farms.
McDonald’s and Arla dairy farmer Will Tizzard. Credit: Arla
McDonald’s has expanded its partnership with Arla Foods to launch a new nature-led sustainability drive across British dairy farms.
We’ve seen first-hand how focusing on soil health and biodiversity strengthens our herds and our businesses. Partnering with McDonald’s through our FarmAhead Programme and the ReNature project means we can measure what’s working and keep improving.”
The fast-food chain has joined Arla’s FarmAhead Customer Partnership programme, expanding a relationship that began in 1987. The latest phase focuses on ReNature, a biodiversity project designed to assess and improve soil health, wildlife habitats and overall biodiversity on around 60 organic dairy farms supplying Arla.
The cooperative will share the findings across its milk pool to create measurable benchmarks for sustainable farming.
Ellie Wotherspoon, Agriculture and Sustainable Sourcing Manager at McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said: “We are proud to support British dairy farming, without it we wouldn’t be able to provide our customers with the delicious organic milk they enjoy in our teas, coffees and Happy Meal milk bottles. By joining the FarmAhead Customer Partnership, we are delighted to be building on our existing programmes with Arla and their farmer owners, and shining a spotlight on nature within the dairy industry to develop the great work that is already being done on farms around the country.”
Driving sustainable change on UK dairy farms
Arla supplies McDonald’s with organic milk for restaurants nationwide and has worked with the chain on a number of sustainability initiatives. These include investing nearly £1 million into the Organic Dairy Network, sponsoring farms to advance regenerative agriculture practices and promoting best practice across the industry.
Paul Dover, UK Agricultural Director at Arla Foods UK, highlighted the significance of the expanded collaboration. “Through our long-term relationship, McDonald’s and Arla both have a shared ambition to reduce emissions alongside championing nature and biodiversity. In partnering on the FarmAhead Customer Partnership as the next stage in that relationship, it’s testament to McDonald’s commitment to working alongside farmers to harness innovation and support a resilient food system that creates more sustainable farming practices.”
The ReNature project aims to help farmers improve biodiversity on-farm, with practical tools to monitor and measure progress. It is also expected to provide insights that can be applied more broadly across Arla’s supply base, strengthening efforts to cut scope 3 emissions while protecting natural ecosystems.
Farmer Will Tizzard, who supplies both Arla and McDonald’s, welcomed the partnership. “As organic dairy farmers, we’ve seen first-hand how focusing on soil health and biodiversity strengthens our herds and our businesses. Partnering with McDonald’s through our FarmAhead Programme and the ReNature project means we can measure what’s working and keep improving. It’s encouraging to have a customer investing in practical, nature-led solutions on farm – support that helps us deliver high-quality milk today while building a more resilient, sustainable future.”
Part of a wider industry shift
The initiative builds on McDonald’s role in the strengthened Dairy Roadmap – a cross-industry alliance uniting farmers, processors, retailers and foodservice to accelerate sustainability across the UK dairy sector.
Together with its Plan for Change and Farm Forward programme, which supports over 29,000 British and Irish farmers, the partnership with Arla aims to set a new benchmark for nature-positive dairy farming.
