Latest News
The national dairy industry through its peak body, the Australian Dairy Industry Council, last week launched its 2014 Sus
tainability 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).
- See more at: http://www.dairyinnovation.com.au/di-blog/on-track-to-meet-sustainaibility-targets#sthash.A2W9GE2t.dpuf
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.
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.