Alpro has become the first European food manufacturer to be granted entry to WWF's Climate Savers ­programme.

The soya product supplier joins a list of companies including Coca-Cola Enterprises and Supervalu, who the WWF believes are "leading the transition to a low-­carbon economy."

Alpro hopes the award will highlight the poor environmental record of its dairy rivals and help recruit new fans to its Alpro and Provamel brands.

WWF said it was impressed that Alpro had cut CO2 emissions at its plants by 11% between 2008 and 2010 and that its products had a lower impact on the environment than their dairy counterparts. "As a planet we need to recalibrate and rebalance what we eat," said Alpro CEO Bernard Deryckere.

At the moment, Alpro cannot use WWF's logo in any ­marketing campaigns, but Deryckere is hoping to gain permission.