Australian dairy companies working together for a sustainable future

The Dairy Manufacturers Sustainability Council (DMSC) is an industry-recognised body that assists company members to  improve their environmental sustainability. This is achieved by enabling knowledge-sharing on best practice, and by publicly reporting on collective outcomes.  The Dairy Manufacturers Sustainability Council includes representatives of the major dairy processing companies and its primary roles are to work towards achieving environmental sustainability targets, influence the transference of key skills and knowledge into the industry, and guide research activities.  Sustainability is vital to the future competitiveness of the  Australian dairy industry. For this reason, the industry is  committed to on-going improvements, across the entire supply  chain.

Read the Lion 2013 Sustainability Report at http://lnkd.in/bQGQzuS to find out more about how, despite a challenging operating environment, a blend of sustainable innovation in all facets of our business coupled with values-led policy development and advocacy means Lion has entered 2014 a more sustainable business.

This Web Application provides users with an operational and commercial analysis for a selected range of cheese whey options. The App gives an indication of the required capital, expected operating costs, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) for each of these options.

Users of the App start by entering their target cheese production quantities, or expected milk supply curve, across a 10 year period. The volume and composition of whey is subsequently calculated from the selected cheese production plan (type and quantity).

When the whey volume has been calculated, users can select from a range of whey products and by-products. The whey products currently available are D40 and WPC35 liquid concentrates plus whole whey, D40 and WPC35 powders. It is also possible to test a number of scenarios based on production and sale of raw or pasteurised liquid whey.

The model runs detailed operational and financial calculations for the chosen whey product and selected scale. These calculations are based on the operational and financial structure of an Australian dairy manufacturing business. Default settings are provided by the model. Alternatively, the user can set their own inputs including factors such as capital, labour, overheads, product yield, and utilities usage and cost.

Contact Dairy Innovation for more information and with your feedback on the App

The national dairy industry through its peak body, the Australian Dairy Industry Council, last week launched its 2014 Sustainability Framework Progress Report (link to report). From a dairy processing perspective there were three key measures reported, in the areas of water use, solid waste and CO2. And the news is good.

In 2012 the Australian dairy industry committed to a series of improved sustainability targets for the year 2020. For dairy processing, these targets were based off a baseline built from data published in the 2010/11 Australian Dairy Manufacturing Sustainability Report (download here).

The first of these targets was to look at the amount of fresh water used across dairy processing. The measure reported is Water Intensity as defined by the number of litres of water consumed to process one litre of milk into finished product(s). As can be seen from the first graph the industry is tracking well to meet its target, being slightly below the track between the baseline and 2020 target of 1.4L of water per litre of milk processed.

Waste to landfill is the next key performance target and a quick look at the graph shows the industry has almost achieved its 2020 target, - six years ahead of time. The Waste to Landfill KPI is reported as tonnes of waste sent to landfill per million tonnes of milk processed into final products. The target of 2.6t/ML milk is 40% lower than the baseline with the industry having already reached a 39% reduction.

The final key performance target is Greenhouse Gas Intensity, measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per million litres of milk processed into final product. The graph shown is much like the water intensity one in that the industry is tracking just ahead of the rate required to meet the 2020 target.

The 2020 reduction targets and the progress to date in the processing sector are a credit to the individual companies involved. Especially for their willingness to accept and collaborate towards collective goals in an otherwise increasingly competitive market. The industry does not wish to sit on its laurels however, and as always would welcome interest from organisations with access to technologies or services that can help the industry further improve its sustainability performance.

Read more about the processors commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices at the Dairy Manufacturers Sustainability Council website or contact Dr David Barr for further information.

The following are announcements of meetings and workshops, held by organisations / companies that have previously presented to the DMSC Members, that may be of general interest to those involved in all aspects of resource efficiency in business

The Australian Institution of Refrigeration, Air-conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) aims to promote best practice and reduce the environmental footprint of the sector it represents, through communication and education.  In March 2014, the AIRAH will host a one day workshop on all aspects of the potential for deployment of Solar Cooling  in Australia.  Details can be obtained: solarcoolingworkshop

The following are announcements of meetings and workshops, held by organisations / companies that have previously presented to the DMSC Members, that may be of general interest to those involved in all aspects of resource efficiency in business

The Australian Food & Grocery Council (AFGC) is the leading organisation for manufacturers of food & grocery products in Australia.  During March 2014, the AFGC will host half-day seminars in the Capital Cities that will highlight the role of energy planning and use in improving business efficiency for manufacturers.  Topics will include the role of technology in energy efficiency, with sector-specific examples of opportunities that have reduced energy costs for individual businesses by up to 30%.  

Details can be obtained: http://afgcempower.org.au/event/breakfast-briefings-for-decision-makers/ 

The following are announcements of meetings and workshops, held by organisations / companies that have previously presented to the DMSC Members, that may be of general interest to those involved in all aspects of resource efficiency in business

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) exists to represent Victorian employers, and to help them lead their businesses into the future.  One important aspect of the future will be the supply and use of energy, including renewables.  A series of free webinars will be made available in March-June 2014 that will cover the practicalities, problems and profit associated with using solar energy.    

Details can be obtained: Link

Dairy Australia has launched two new support schemes designed to accelerate technology transfer and project development within the Australian dairy processing sector. The Dairy Australia Technology Assessment (DATA) Scheme and the Grant Access Support (GAS) Scheme both place a high priority on supporting industry-wide progress towards achieving manufacturing-based targets under the Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework - namely reduction in GHG emissions intensity, water consumption intensity and waste-to-landfill intensity - and are designed to overcome current barriers to implementation associated with the time and funding required to properly assess new technologies as well as access the funding required to see good projects implemented.

Applications for the two schemes is currently open and restricted to DMSC Company Members only.

Details of the schemes are provided in the Program Guidelines below:

                       

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has just announced its revised investment priorities beyond May 1st 2017. The big news for DMSC members is that improving energy productivity is one of four key priority areas. Improved energy productivity is defined by producing a higher value manufacturing return per unit of energy invested. Interestingly, this means that projects that involving the implementation of energy efficiency measures, electrification and/or fuel switching to renewable energy sources will all be considered for funding support by ARENA.

Further details of ARENA's investment plan can be found here:

The DMSC Company Members and Dairy Australia are pleased to announce that the 2015/16 Dairy Manufacturing Environmental Sustainability Scorecard is now ready for release. This report highlights that over the last five years, through concerted industry effort, DMSC member companies have achieved significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity, water consumption intensity and waste sent to landfill. The 2015/16 DMSC scorecard also includes performance data on wastewater, waste diversion and energy intensity for the first time.

In 2010/11, DMSC members reported a GHG intensity of 178.7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per megalitre of milk processed (t CO2 -e/ML). DMSC’s 2015/16 reporting shows we have reduced this number to 140 tonnes — a 21.7% reduction over five years and an 8.2% reduction compared to 2014/15. In just the last thee years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 751,135 tonnes of CO2 -e. Dairy manufacturers are therefore currently on-track to meet their GHG emissions intensity reduction target of 30% by 2020.

The 2015/16 Environmental Sustainability Scorecard can be found here: