Oatly

Oatly’s impact model is based on substitution: encouraging consumers to replace dairy milk with oat based alternatives.

The company cites lifecycle assessments showing that its oat drinks can have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than comparable cow’s milk, with the exact difference varying by market, production system, and study.

Oatly also tracks what it calls a climate handprint, an estimate of the emissions that may be avoided when consumers choose Oatly instead of dairy. That does not mean the product is carbon negative. Oatly still produces emissions through farming, manufacturing, packaging, and transportation, and it reports those impacts separately.

The broader goal is to shift everyday food consumption toward more plant based choices at scale. That means competing not just as a specialty dairy free product, but as a mainstream option in grocery stores, cafés, and foodservice.

Oatly’s environmental claims have also faced scrutiny. Some comparative advertising claims have been challenged by regulators, while critics and investors have raised questions over the years about how the company communicates its sustainability performance.

Those debates are important context. The strongest evidence for Oatly’s impact model comes from product level lifecycle assessments and transparent emissions reporting, while broader claims about land, water, packaging, or total environmental superiority depend on the specific methodology and market being measured.

The core impact thesis remains straightforward: if consumers replace dairy milk with lower emission plant based alternatives at meaningful scale, the climate footprint of those consumption choices can decline.

Oatly measures its impact primarily through the emissions associated with its products and the estimated emissions avoided when consumers choose oat drinks instead of dairy.

- 44% to 80% lower climate impact: Company commissioned lifecycle assessments have found that Oatly oat drinks can have substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than comparable cow’s milk, depending on the market, production system, and study methodology.

- About 285,896 metric tons of CO2e avoided in 2025: Oatly estimated that consumer substitution from dairy to its products avoided roughly 285,896 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent during the year.

- About 0.48 kg CO2e avoided per liter sold in 2025: This is Oatly’s estimated climate handprint per liter, based on the difference between its products and the dairy products they are assumed to replace.

- About 1.43 million metric tons of CO2e avoided over seven years: Oatly reports cumulative estimated avoided emissions across multiple years of product sales.

- 0.554 kg CO2e per liter produced in 2024: Oatly reported this as its own corporate greenhouse gas footprint intensity. The figure increased compared with 2023, showing that the company’s operational footprint can move in the wrong direction even while its substitution impact remains positive.

- 319,164 metric tons of corporate greenhouse gas emissions in 2024: This represents Oatly’s reported emissions across its operations and value chain for the year.

- Production waste to landfill goal achieved early: Oatly reported eliminating production waste sent to landfill in 2024, reaching the target ahead of its original 2029 goal.