Sustainable Dog Food Without the Greenwash
Sustainable dog food, without the greenwash
We would rather give you the specific facts, targets included, than call the food "eco". Here is what Interquell actually does, taken from its own sustainability report.
Energy
The Wehringen plant has bought 100% renewable electricity since 2021. In June 2024 a 1,000 kWp solar park next to the plant came online and now covers a growing share of what the site uses.
Energy use is managed under ISO 50001. The company measures its carbon footprint every year with myclimate and offsets part of it. Its own report is candid that energy use per tonne rose in 2023 and 2024 while the plant was upgraded, and we would rather tell you that than round it off.
Ingredients and distance
Most of the plant ingredients, the cereals, potatoes and herbs, come from farms around Augsburg. The company is working towards 70% of all raw materials sourced from within 700 km by 2030. That is a target, not an achievement yet, and the honest picture is that rice, which does not grow in Bavaria, travels furthest. Where a novel protein has to come from far away, ostrich or kangaroo, it is there because a dog needs it, not for the label.
Transport and packaging
Over a third of the company car fleet is electric, the lorry fleet runs on HVO renewable diesel, and fleet emissions are down 18% against 2019.
All cardboard and packing paper is FSC certified. Bag recyclability is improving product by product, with targets of 60% recyclable packaging by 2028 and 80% by 2030.
What we do not claim
Happy Dog is not carbon neutral, and we will not say it is. "Sustainable" on its own is not a claim we can back, so we do not make it. What we can say is that the food is made by a family business that has been on the same site for 260 years, powers its factory on green electricity, sources its plant ingredients from its own region, and publishes a report every year saying what went well and what did not.
Getting it to you
UK parcels go with DPD, which measures the emissions of every parcel it delivers, works to reduce them, and offsets what remains through audited carbon credit projects. That is DPD's programme rather than ours, and it is offsetting rather than zero emissions, so we describe it that way. Ordering the larger bag less often is the single thing you can do to cut the delivery footprint further.
Giving back
Two per cent of every pack of Africa goes to SOS Children's Villages, which has passed two million euros. In the UK we have donated over 18,000 kg of food to rescue centres since October 2023. How we give back.
Read how the food is made and how it is checked.
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