The last 18 years have seen the UK dairy sector securing enhanced levels of environmental sustainability across the industry.
This has been achieved on the back of a specifically developed ‘roadmap’, launched back in 2008, according to Ian Stevenson, the chief executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland (DCNI).
He told Agriland: “Moreover, the dairy industry in Northern Ireland has played a pivotal role in enabling this progress.
“The UK Dairy Roadmap was developed and delivered through an industry-led, voluntary initiative, with the dairy sector playing the primary role in shaping its objectives and implementation.
“It reflects the need for the dairy industry to commit to its own sustainable future in ways that extend beyond, yet still fully complement, national and international standards that are implemented at a statutory level.”
According to the DCNI representative, central to the roadmap’s success has been the “regular updating and monitoring of the targets it sets out to achieve”.
“DCNI has demonstrated sustained commitment to the principles embedded in the roadmap and to the key policy drivers and supports it has encouraged to bring forward,” Stevenson said.
“These can best be summarised through the adage: leading by doing.”
The DCNI representative considers the roadmap is one of the world’s most successful cross-sectoral dairy sustainability programmes to have been developed up to this point.
It is co-ordinated by Dairy UK on behalf of the dairy sectors operating in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
And it continues to evolve; a recently expanded UK-wide governance group has been established to look at ways of involving the widest possible grouping of relevant stakeholder bodies, including those that represent retailers and dairy farmers.
“Key issues addressed by the dairy roadmap include the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while improving water quality and energy efficiency,” Stevenson said.
“This focussed approach has generated significant dividends.
“For example, primary energy efficiency levels have increased by 20% at UK processor level, there has been a 17% decrease in energy-related carbon per kilo of milk processed, and water efficiency levels have increased by 20%.”
The DCNI chief executive also spoke about reductions in food waste.
“We have now reduced food waste losses to just 1.3% of total inputs,” he said.
“This is a further indicator of the enhanced levels of efficiency that have been secured by the UK dairy processing industry.
” Linked to this is the improvement secured in raw effluent management efficiency.”
Primary producer level sustainability
According to DCNI, such has been the impact of the roadmap at processor level that the decision has been taken to bring a stronger focus to the key sustainability-related issues that impact at farmer level.
Over the years, a number of important achievements have already been secured at primary producer level, particularly in relation to environmental improvement.
“For example, 65% of dairy managed farmland in the UK is now a part of an environmental stewardship scheme,” Stevenson explained.
“This is likely to expand with the further rollout of the Farming with Nature Scheme that will operate here in Northern Ireland.
“In addition, 40% of the energy used on UK dairy farms comes from renewable sources.
“More than 80% of dairy farmers in the UK have calculated the carbon footprint of their businesses and are working to reduce their emissions.”
Significantly, the issue of climate change mitigation is moving to centre stage in Northern Ireland, with a first Climate Action Plan having been recently consulted on and the announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs that a Just Transition Commission is to be established.
“The new Sustainable Agriculture Programme, which is being brought forward in stages, is a key part of the jigsaw in supporting and enabling the agriculture sector on its journey of sustainability,” Stevenson said.
“The Carbon Footprinting Programme, which is planned for launch in 2026, will allow dairy producers in Northern Ireland to get a carbon footprint independently calculated for their businesses, giving them a valuable baseline to be able to identify areas where they have an opportunity to improve carbon efficiency.”
