Only three dairy and coffee companies set methane targets, new rankings find

• A new ranking by the Changing Markets Foundation finds mixed results amongst some of the largest dairy and coffee companies across Europe and North America.
• The findings show growing methane disclosure, with eight companies reporting methane emissions separately and five publishing clear methane action plans.
• Only three companies have published methane reduction targets, and three reported methane reductions for 2024 or 2025, with Danone almost meeting its 2030 commitment ahead of schedule

London, Wednesday 27 May 2026: Changing Markets Foundation has published the third edition of its dairy and coffee methane rankings, assessing the methane performance of 23 dairy and coffee companies across Europe and North America. Danone tops the rankings with 75.5 points, followed closely by General Mills with 74.5 points, while Starbucks ranks third with 65 points.

While frontrunners have started disclosing methane emissions and have methane action plans, the rest of the sector is still lagging. This is not due to a lack of awareness: 91% of companies assessed recognised the link between livestock and climate change, but only three have published reduction targets for 2030. Danone is the only company aligned with the Global Methane Pledge target of reducing methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030, while General Mills and FrieslandCampina have a wider dairy emissions reduction target by 2030.

Only three companies – Danone, Le Groupe Bel and Nestlé – reported methane reductions for 2024 or 2025. Danone reported 29.8% reduction in methane emissions from its fresh milk in dairy products, with 17.6% reductions linked to procurement decisions and 11.2% linked to farm performance management measures, such as herd and manure management. Nestlé reported a 20.1% reduction, but without explaining how this was achieved, while Le Groupe Bel reported a 23% reduction from its 2017 baseline.[i]

Nusa Urbancic, CEO at Changing Markets Foundation said: “Our rankings show that setting a science-based methane target is one of the most important levers to drive emissions reductions. Danone’s progress shows that targets focus minds when backed by regular reporting and accountability. Methane is a crucially important climate emergency brake, and we need other food companies to ramp up ambition.”

Other key takeaways from the report include:

• While eight companies disclosed their methane emissions, major blind spots remain, with 15 companies including Arla, Lactalis, and McCafé failing to disclose methane emissions for 2024 or 2025.
• Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA) members outperform non-members overall, scoring on average twice as highly as non-DMAA companies (46 vs 23).
• Methane action amongst coffee companies is beginning to take shape, led by Starbucks, which climbed the ranking due to stronger methane disclosure and a clear action plan. All other coffee companies scored below 25 points, with Costa (8 points) and Dunkin (0 points) ranking at the bottom.
• Dairy and coffee companies are currently leading methane action within the food sector, with eight publicly disclosing their methane emissions and three publishing methane reduction targets. This stands in stark contrast to supermarkets – our recent report showed that no major global supermarket publicly discloses methane emissions, has set a methane reduction target or published an action plan in 2026.

Regulation is changing the landscape

The policy landscape is shifting rapidly, with EU regulations including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) expected to increase pressure on companies to improve climate disclosure, including on methane. Companies will need to account for methane emissions more explicitly under strengthened reporting and double materiality requirements. Companies that already have systems in place to account and report methane emissions will be better prepared for increasing regulatory and investor scrutiny.

Why methane matters

Agriculture accounts for 42% of anthropogenic methane emissions – the majority coming from meat and dairy production. Methane is a super-pollutant, 80-times more potent than CO2 and is responsible for around a third of global heating since pre-industrial levels. Yet it’s short-lived, so rapid cuts to methane emissions can act as a climate emergency brake and help us keep warming below 1.5°C, which was agreed as a safe limit by the Paris Agreement.

[i] Group Bel reported this to Changing Markets Foundation, following review of their scores, with a commitment to publish the data online after verification from DMAA.