Global Dairy Platform appoints Jan Derck van Karnebeek as Chair of the Board of Directors

NETHERLANDS – Jan Derck van Karnebeek, CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina N.V., has been appointed the Chair of the Board of Directors at Global Dairy Platform (GDP).

Van Karnebeek succeeds Miles Hurrell, former CEO of Fonterra, who has served as Chair since 2023. The appointment takes effect immediately.

GDP is a not-for-profit industry association representing the global dairy sector. GDP membership, which includes more than 95 leading corporations, companies, associations, scientific bodies, and other partners, has operations in more than 150 countries and collectively produces approximately one-third of all the world’s milk.

Jan Derck van Karnebeek: “It is an honour to become Chair of GDP and to build on the strong foundation that has been laid together with the Board. Under Miles’ leadership, GDP elevated the dairy sector’s integrated story, strengthening the industry’s position.

“The current global challenges of providing healthy and affordable food in a sustainable way are significant. This makes it even more important for dairy companies to continue working together across borders.”

FrieslandCampina drives sustainability with renewable diesel partnership

Recently, FrieslandCampina partnered with Future Fuels to improve sustainability, enabling its member dairy farmers to switch to renewable diesel (HVO100) easily. This fuel emits up to 90 percent less CO₂ than conventional diesel.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the dairy chain requires a mix of measures. On their farms, dairy farmers can work on feed, manure and herb-rich grasslands, for example.

Using renewable diesel is a measure that can be implemented without altering farm operations. The fuel can be used in existing agricultural machinery without any adjustments and delivers immediate CO₂ reduction.

Promoting the use of renewable diesel is part of a partnership between FrieslandCampina and Future Fuels. For a period of one year, member dairy farmers can purchase the fuel at a fixed price.

The data required to demonstrate emission reductions is processed automatically so that the results are included in Foqus planet, FrieslandCampina’s sustainability programme. Through Foqus planet, member dairy farmers are rewarded for their sustainability efforts, such as lowering their emissions.

Switching to renewable diesel contributes to FrieslandCampina’s climate targets. The CO₂ footprint of milk production has already fallen significantly in recent years, partly due to the use of green electricity.

In 2025, around 4 percent of total farm emissions came from energy use, mainly diesel consumption. Although this share may seem small, the scale of the cooperative can make a big difference: if 1,000 dairy farmers switch to HVO100, this is expected to deliver around 200 kton of CO₂ reduction.

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