Sustainability and resources at the dairy

As a dairyman you are part of an industry actively working to reduce its resource consumption and carbon footprint — both because it makes good operational economic sense and because the outside world increasingly demands it. Understanding this agenda is part of understanding the trade today.

§Where does the carbon footprint come from?

According to the industry's own figures, more than 80% of a dairy product's total carbon footprint is tied to the farms themselves and milk production before the milk even reaches the dairy. This means that the actual processing at the dairy — pasteurisation, cheese making, cooling and packaging — constitutes a smaller, but far from insignificant share, where the dairy operator's working methods and facility efficiency come into play.

§Energy recovery at the dairy itself

Heat treatment of milk and cheese is energy-intensive, and when milk is heated, cooled and processed, excess heat is generated which many dairies today recover rather than waste. Excess heat from, for example, cheese production can be used elsewhere in production or for heating buildings, which significantly reduces total energy consumption.

§Water and whey — a double resource

Some dairies have invested in technology that filters water out of whey and concentrates its nutrients so that the number of truck transports can be significantly reduced. The excess water is then cleaned and reused for example for rinsing in production, which greatly reduces total water consumption.

§What does it mean for you as a dairy technician?

In practice, the sustainability agenda means that as a dairy operator, you increasingly need to relate to energy consumption, water consumption and resource utilisation as part of daily operations — not as a side project. Efficient CIP cleaning, correctly adjusted equipment and awareness of waste all contribute to making production more sustainable, without compromising either quality or food safety.