Dairy Processing - March/April 2024 - 44

OPERATIONS
emissions, water, waste, animal care and community impact.
The industry also developed 2050 environmental goals,
such as achieving GHG neutrality, optimizing water use
while maximizing recycling, and improving water quality by
optimizing utilization of manure and nutrients.
" These goals and the progress made as an industry
against them helps to build trust with buyers and other
stakeholders, and supports US dairy's competitive edge,
providing a distinguishing factor by demonstrating how the
US industry is well poised to meet the growing global demand
for sustainably produced, high-quality nutrition, " Hassel said.
" A critical part of achieving the 2050 goals is ensuring that
all farms, regardless of size, location and type of operation,
have access to economically viable opportunities for reducing
environmental impact through market-based opportunities,
cost-share and other incentives. "
The dairy industry also has 23 Partnership for ClimateSmart
Commodity Projects that are receiving $853 million
in federal funding, and the US Department of Agriculture's
Regional Conservation Partnership Program is investing more
than $1 billion to advance solutions on agriculture land, with
10 dairy projects totaling $96.4 million.
also sending out crucial market signals that there is a need
for greater innovation, research and funding to come to these
solutions, " Kapate said.
While there are currently some solutions for herd
management and manure management coming to the market,
Kapate said there is a need for more. He said companies have
the scale to reach a wider range of farmers and the ability to
deploy finance, capital and innovation to drive research and
expand methane solutions.
We work on behalf of
stakeholders ... It's been part of how
we've acted since the beginning. "
Paul Snyder, Tillamook County Creamery Association
In other efforts, Great Lakes Cheese, Hiram, Ohio, is
one of several Walmart suppliers purchasing renewable
energy from a wind farm in Kansas and participating in
Walmart's renewable energy accelerator called Gigaton PPA.
Additionally, California Dairies Inc. teamed with Skyven
Technologies to eliminate more than 3,500 metric tons (MT)
of carbon dioxide emissions through renewable heat systems,
with a smart steam trap solution and a boiler heat recovery
system that boosts efficiency of boilers by 10%.
PREPARING FOR FUTURE REGULATION
Staying the course on commitments the industry has already
established and continuing to build partnerships along the
value chain are two important efforts the industry can take to
improve its ESG outcomes. Aquino said processors will need
to continue to develop leaders that engage the value chain,
both downstream with retail customers and end users, as well
as upstream at intermediate processing plants and farms, to
drive influence and encourage best practices for managing
social and environmental impacts.
Reducing methane emissions is also a large goal for the
industry, as it represents about 60% of overall GHG emissions
from dairy supply chains, said Vrashabh Kapate, dairy industry
manager for Environmental Defense Fund. Six companies -
the Bel Group, Danone, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Lactalis
USA and Nestle - have teamed with EDF to introduce the
Dairy Methane Action Alliance to help reduce emissions in
the dairy supply chain. The companies will disclose the total
methane emissions in their supply chains and create methane
action plans by the end of the year.
" By publicly committing on methane, these companies are
44 MAR-APR 2024 | DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
This will all become increasingly important as more ESGrelated
disclosures become mandated. Global companies will
be required to disclose environmental, social and governance
impacts and risks under the European Union's Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive. Plus, California is leading
domestically in terms of jurisdictions looking to make
similar requirements.
IDFA recommends processors participate in coalitions to
ensure the industry is ready for that shift, Aquino said.
" On top of any consumer pressure that is out there and
on top of any customer pressure ... there is more formal
policy on the horizon that may require some of the things that
corporations have been doing in a voluntary space so far, "
he said.
©salarko-stock.adobe.com
http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
Dairy Processing - March/April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dairy Processing - March/April 2024
