THE COMPANY

A family business focussed on regional ingredients

Nestled in the heart of the Weserbergland, Petri Feinkost is the family-owned business behind Petrella — a well-known cream cheese found in fridges all over Germany. For over 30 years, Petri has produced its fresh products in Glesse, a small village surrounded by green meadows where cows outnumber people.

What makes Petri unique is not just the quality of its products, but its deep commitment to regional sourcing, long-standing producer partnerships and sustainable business practices. The company sources its milk from dairy farms located a maximum of 50 kilometers from its facility. For Petri, sustainability spans environmental, economic, and social responsibility, with current initiatives ranging from healthy breakfast programs in schools to investments in energy efficiency and animal welfare.

THE CHALLENGE

Sourcing accurate farm-level data directly from producers

Like other food and beverage manufacturers, Petri faces growing expectations from retailers and regulators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — especially Scope 3.1 emissions from dairy farms. Corporate Carbon Footprints calculated in previous years had relied on generic emission factors to estimate farm emissions, which limited Petri’s ability to plan and implement meaningful reduction strategies. 

Petri needed a way to collect farm-level emission data directly from its suppliers — and to use this data as the basis for improvement. The goal was twofold: first, to understand the true emissions profile of their upstream supply chain, and second, to begin working directly with farmers on farm optimisation projects in the years ahead.

THE SOLUTION

Farm-level data collection with Root

Petri partnered up with Root, calculating two corporate carbon footprints (CCFs) for 2023 and 2024, while simultaneously launching data collection with their farmer base.

“Requests for emission data from our retail customers are increasing every year,” said Luisa Petri, Petri’s Head of Marketing. “We decided to work with Root because they understand the intricacies of the food and beverage industry, from the needs of farmers through to the requirements communicated by large retailers.”

Thanks to their close relationships with suppliers and Root’s intuitive, farmer-friendly platform, Petri were quickly able to collect data from their entire supplier base.

“Everything went very smoothly. We collected data from 100% of our farmers in just four weeks. Feedback from the farms was great – our farmers found Root’s platform very easy to use,” said André Bödeker, Head of Inside Sales and Administration at Petri. 

The team at Petri particularly valued the hands-on collaboration and support provided by Root.

“That’s what really differentiates Root from other carbon accounting and data collection solutions,” said Luisa. “Beyond the emission calculations, Root helped us with the next steps, from analysing the data we collected to presenting insights to our management team. Root turned up prepared for every single meeting, guiding us step-by-step through the process and acting as a sparring partner for climate topics.”

THE IMPACT

Turning insights into action

Following the successful data collection and CCF work, Petri is now expanding their climate efforts with Root. The team is currently working on product carbon footprints (PCFs) across six product categories — including vegan cream cheese alternatives — and preparing to communicate the results to their retail customers. All collected primary data from the farms is embedded directly into CCF and PCF calculations.

Petri is also developing farm-level action plans based on the emission data gathered. These plans will help farmers understand their individual footprints and identify the most effective and practical areas for reduction.

“Reducing farm-level emissions is a complex topic that needs to be customised to the reality of each farm,” said André. “Root’s platform helps us consider the unique situation of every farmer and work towards emission reduction measures that work well for them.”

Petri Feinkost shows that regional values and climate leadership can go hand-in-hand. With the infrastructure in place to collect and act on primary farm data, the business is well-positioned to meet evolving sustainability expectations – without compromising on quality.