The output of the plant, which has two 530-kilowatt CHP units, covers the energy requirements of the biogas plant. The electricity generated is able to power both the facility itself and the sewage treatment plant, with excess energy is exported to the electricity grid. The plant has a processing capacity of 33,000 tons of organic waste from food processors and restaurants to generate around 7,500,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year. Accepted waste includes fats, oils, brewery and
dairy residues, fruit and vegetables which are fed into the stainless steel containers. The plant has already won prestigious awards for its technology: These include the Premier‘s Sustainability Award for leading innovation and practice in Victoria and the Banksia Award for Leading in Circular Economy.

At the start of the maintenance work, the tanks will first be completely emptied. In addition, the roofs of the two 3,573 cubic meter stainless steel fermenters and internal plant components such as the agitator technology will be replaced. The plant will then be commissioned and operational management will be secured. The digester contents will be temporarily stored in the storage tank and material can be filled back into the tanks after the refurbishment so the plant can be up and running quickly. This saves resources and costs. In addition, it is easier to restart the biological process when the fermented material is immediately available. Last but not least, the processes also comply with occupational safety requirements, which are a high priority in Australia – especially when emptying and filling the tanks. WELTEC will also provide on-site staff training. “WELTEC BIOPOWER has been a valued partner in our successful journey with our Wollert Facility. We value their commitment to safety and quality and have leveraged their expertise in mechanical and biological consulting over the lifespan of our facility,” emphasizes Stephanie Salinas, manager waste to Energy Services at YVW. “WELTEC can look back on extensive experience with such complex refurbishment projects. We are delighted that we have been able to enjoy the trust of our customers over such a long period of time,” says Vladimir Bogatov, area sales manager Asia Pacific at WELTEC BIOPOWER.

With more than 400 biogas plants planned and built worldwide and a strong service department, WELTEC has the necessary level of expertise for such modernizations. This experience is also valued Down Under to ensure that the plant operation remains flexible and continues to live up to its reputation as one of Australia‘s most innovative biogas projects in the future.

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The study, carried out by the New Zealand Exchange (NZX) and based on project data provided by Fonterra® and Levno®, also found a 62% reduction in milk reaching critical scores and a 45% drop in insurance claims – highly contributed to by the 85% lower likelihood to claim insurance for refrigeration, agitation, or power related failures – by adapting the technology.

The technology could bring about the same improvements in the UK, dairy experts claim.

The rollout of MVM was launched by Fonterra in part to drive up milk quality, along with other on-farm and transport related benefits, and the study was supported by Fonterra to help quantify the improvement in milk quality.

Fonterra is a New Zealand dairy Co-operative owned by thousands of dairy farmers. The study involved introducing monitoring telemetry to the milk vats or tanks of Fonterra’s farmer owners and comparing the data, from a subset of almost 1200 farms, to the year prior to the technology being introduced.

The most popular MVM platforms used in the study were Levno’s Trim and Full Cream solutions, with the latter providing a 24-7-365 escalated human response service. This alerts farmers to potential problems with their milk within 10 minutes of detection and continues to monitor the data until the situation is resolved.

The study data was independently analysed by New Zealand Exchange (NZX).

It revealed that Levno’s Full Cream product reduced total bacteria counts by 69% compared to storing milk without MVM technology. Coliforms were down 42% as a result of installing MVM technology and insurance claims dropped by 45% in total.

Milk temperature was on average 12% lower using Full Cream, with 19% fewer collections made above 12^oC and almost none above 14^oC.

Milk quality was also assessed against Fonterra’s Milk Quality Index (MQI) which uses multiple data points to plot the degradation of the milk.

The measure is used to plan logistics and downstream processing of the milk, and to drive efficiencies in collection.

The study found that by implementing Levno’s Full Cream, farms achieved 22% fewer medium MQI scores, 26% fewer high MQI scores, and 62% fewer critical MQI scores.

According to NZX, the average value of ‘milk saved’ as a result of implementing MVM technology equated to NZD$12,863 per farm.

The objective of the study was to confirm that the introduction of MVM, technology, and Levno’s Full Cream solution, would drive material and sustainable improvements in milk quality.

Results found that after analysing the data provided, it is clear that the introduction of MVM technology improved the on-farm milk storage process and reduced the risk of degraded milk being supplied to Fonterra.

Multiple measures helped to corroborate this outcome – from the MQI measure during storage, milk temperatures at the time of collection, bacteria and coliform results, and the number of insurance claims by farmers. Importantly, there was also a significant reduction in the upper quartile of those measures with fewer outliers.

Additionally, the Full Cream solution further improves the quality of milk stored on farm and reduces the amount that may require disposal due to poor storage practices. The advance in technology has changed the way on-farm raw milk is monitored, and therefore protected.

The end result is better quality milk with significantly fewer instances of milk being registered as ‘critical’ on Fonterra’s MQI score.

James McCreery, national planning & dispatch manager at Fonterra, said: “We are providing tools to our farmer owners to continue to help them be the best dairy farmers in the world, and Levno is a tool for them to ensure they are supplying the best quality milk possible.”

He added one of the greatest strengths of Fonterra’s partnership with Levno has been the people.

“They brought in a lot of experience working with New Zealand farmers,” James said.

“They also have got the 24/7 support team. The people at Levno make a big difference.”

Matt Lynch, Levno’s country manager for UK and Ireland, said the study demonstrated how Full Cream brought major financial benefits to Fonterra’s farm suppliers.

For example, Levno’s Full Cream has saved almost 2.3 million litres across Fonterra farms during the latest 2023-24 milking season, averaging 6,800 litres per farm.

He said: “Full Cream helped the farmers who took part in the study produce higher quality milk and avoid the significant revenue loss associated with milk degradation and wastage.

“It also helped them avoid costly incidents where milk was not fit for collection and where an insurance claim was required for the loss. With each claim attracting an average excess of $500, that’s a huge saving.

“With dairy farmers in the UK facing a reduction in support payments, technologies like MVM offer new ways to bring efficiencies to dairy enterprises which will help drive the long-term sustainability of the industry.

“The ability to monitor milk quality in real time and resolve issues quickly means less degradation, less wastage and ultimately, a better return for producers.”

To read the full detail and explanation of findings click here.

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Essential groceries such as bread, vegetables and fruit were listed as the most likely items to end up in the bin, as people admitted to struggling to eat food before it goes out of date. Fruit and vegetables for example, were top of the throwing away list, adding up to £5.24 week, or £272.48 per year, and discarded more than once a week. Bread also saw high throw out rates of once a week, or £1.40 a week.

Three out of the top ten items were dairy. Makes sense as most people have some dairy in their fridges. Milk was thrown out 47 times a year on average, every 10 days, for a total of £0.65 per week or £33.80 per year. Yogurt was binned about 41 times a year, or every 12-14 days, and cheese was chucked every two to three weeks, at a cost of £2.08 per week.

The survey did say that Brits are better at using up milk, with the majority throwing this fridge staple out less than once a month, while a third (36%) said they never throw it away at all. No, we go through every drop here at our house.

Commenting on the findings, Sarah Heap, food storage expert at AO.com, said:

“In the wake of the cost-of-living crisis, the findings that Brits are binning the equivalent of a month’s worth of food every year is really shocking – especially when this figure equates to more than the average UK salary in a person’s lifetime.

“However, our study found that many of the essential food items that are ending up in the bin could actually be saved. Technology has its role to play in helping us to live more sustainably, and it’s important people make the most of the way they store foods to prolong shelf life. All the items listed in our survey can be frozen, if prepared in the right way first.”

In light of the findings, AO.com have partnered with influencer Kate Hall, known as The Full Freezer, to help Brits make the most of food storage options and reduce waste in their households.

To access the free expert advice and hacks, visit the AO.com website.

The post Reducing food waste is vital appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

With water shortage fears growing across the UK, companies are re-examining their production processes with a view to reduce the waste of this valuable global resource.

“Without a rapid, effective treatment option, liquid effluent can become a costly issue to tackle.” Says Jamie George, projects & business development director at Axium Process.

While effluent composition varies with the industry, it is usually composed of microplastics, fats, oils, grease and many other unsavoury particulates. Membrane filtration is able to selectively separate these suspended solids, leaving behind high-quality water that is immediately available for reuse in upstream or downstream processes.

Eliminating the need for damaging chemical flocculants, membrane filtration reduces the risk of damage to our rivers and waterways and could potentially reveal the presence of valuable materials that would otherwise be destroyed using alternative methods.

Jamie George states “Initial pilot trials on the feed material are carried out, either at our Swansea test facility, or at the manufacturer’s premises. These are instrumental in how we identify and adjust process parameters for optimal filtration results.”

Able to provide a reliable, cost-effective solution to reducing discharge volumes with the potential to recovering up to 90% of wastewater, membrane filtration is a tried-and-true solution for water recovery needs. Plants can be constructed in a variety of set-ups, from containerised units to small, compact systems that can be moved to other areas as needed and can also be designed with future expansion in mind.

Axium’s extensive expertise allows for the design and manufacture of crossflow membrane filtration solutions tailored for diverse applications, all while adhering to international regulations and maintaining the highest of hygienic standards.

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• Dissemination and Discussion of Current Research: Cutting-edge research findings and innovations in cheese science will be presented and discussed, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration among attendees.

• Reach Researchers and the Dairy Industry: The event will attract researchers, scientists, academicians, and industry experts from across the globe, facilitating networking and promoting advancements in the dairy sector.

• Increase Visibility of Cheese Science: By emphasizing aspects of milk quality, cheese production and the significance of cheese as a healthy food product, the symposium will elevate the profile of cheese science to both the dairy community and the general public.

• Build New Networks: Attendees will have ample opportunities to build new networks and strengthen existing connections during the symposium, paving the way for potential partnerships and joint initiatives.

“We envision this symposium as a catalyst for positive change in the dairy sector,” added the Chair of the Programme Committee, Professor Siv Skeie (NMBU).  “Through collaboration and shared knowledge, we hope to shape the future of cheese production and its role in promoting a sustainable food system.”

For more information, to submit abstracts, to look at sponsoring opportunities and to register for the IDF Cheese Science and Technology Symposium 2024, please visit IDF Cheese 2024.com. 

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Trane Sintesis Balance CMAF multi-pipe units offer building owners of multifunctional facilities like office buildings, hospitals, theatres and hotels reduced investment costs, better use of floor space and lower total operating expenses while significantly improving the sustainability of their operations. Using renewable and recovered energy to produce hot water, the Trane Sintesis Balance CMAF can replace the existing fossil-fuel boiler and chiller system to deliver both chilled and hot water for the entire building with no direct greenhouse gas emissions.

“With this new generation of air-sourced multi-pipe units, Trane is again raising the bar in sustainable, efficient and flexible delivery of cooling and heating in buildings,” said Louis Rompre, portfolio manager at Trane in Europe, Middle East and Africa. ”Our emission-free Sintesis Balance systems leverage renewable technology, full heat recovery and repurposing of that heat, clearing the pathway to reducing direct use of fossil fuels. By adding the R-454B refrigerant, we further increased the units’ efficiencies and lowered annual operating costs, bringing significant savings to the building owners’ bottom lines.”

Trane offers the low global warming potential (GWP) R-454B refrigerant across its entire portfolio of scroll compressor chillers, heat pumps, multi-pipe units and rooftops. The R-454B refrigerant, a non-ozone depleting HFO/HFC blend, has a GWP level of 467, the lowest among the refrigerants available today for scroll compressor technology. R-454B offers 76% reduction in direct GWP impact against R-410A and 34% reduction against R-32 refrigerant. This answers customers’ need for a sustainable, highly efficient refrigerant option that future proofs their investment and mitigates the increasing tax rates put on refrigerants across Europe.

The new Sintesis Balance CMAF models with R-454B are substantially more efficient when compared to R-410A models, offering:

• 3.5% better Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) in cooling mode
• 4.5% better Total Efficiency Ratio (TER) in simultaneous cooling and heating mode
• 3% better Coefficient of Performance (COP) in pure heating mode.

The capacity range increased up to 1,400 kW and answers the needs of larger new and existing building owners wanting to eliminate separate boiler and chiller systems to fulfil their facilities’ cooling requirements in the summer, heating in the winter or both throughout the year.

The 3°C wider heating operating map allows more buildings, even in colder regions in Europe, to move away from fossil-fuel based heating systems and benefit from the Sintesis Balance CMAF delivering:

• Up to 48°C hot water at ambient air temperatures as low as -18°C
• Up to 55°C hot water at ambient air temperatures as low as -10°C
• Up to 68°C of hot (sanitary) water when ambient air temperature is above +7°C.

Additional key features of the Trane Sintesis Balance CMAF systems include:

• Trane Adaptive Refrigerant System, a proprietary technology, which automatically optimizes refrigerant charge and sub-cooling in each operating mode and varying temperature conditions, delivering additional performance and efficiency gains.
• The fully electric driven CMAF multi-pipe unit doesn’t generate any direct greenhouse gas emissions and offers up to 350 percent higher efficiency (in heat pump mode) compared to most gas boilers when delivering hot water for comfort heating systems.
• Configurability with three acoustic packages and efficiency levels to meet different buildings’ application requirements.
• New generation of Trane controls technology – Tracer Symbio800 controller – featuring advanced algorithms ensuring smooth, reliable operation with the low cost of ownership. In addition, it also offers six arbitration choices to optimize performances in each application.

Providing sustainable cooling and heating solutions is part of Trane’s and Trane Technologies’ overall approach to reducing carbon emissions in the industries and markets they serve. It helps advance the 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including the Gigaton Challenge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons.

For more details on the complete Trane portfolio of solutions, please visit www.Trane.eu

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This year, Yili Group has launched net-zero carbon products and factories, issued the Roadmap to a Net-Zero Carbon Future, and set concrete targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050. Yili is one of the global dairy top five companies and Asia’s dairy company. It now owns 15 R&D and innovation centres and 74 productions bases globally. Its products are on the market in more than 60 countries and regions.

Dr. Zhanyou Yun is responsible for support and management of technical innovation, including managing technical innovation compliance and intellectual property rights, building the ecosystem for technical innovation at home and abroad, and introducing and communicating Yili’s innovation outcomes. Meanwhile, he also serves as the vice president of the Probiotics Branch of the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology and as the expert for the IDF China National Committee.

He notes, “Our increasingly health-conscious consumers are calling for nutritional, customised and functional dairy products. As a consumer-centric, innovation-driven company, Yili is exploring the value of dairy products and seeking to launch health products to meet the full-lifecycle, all-scenario needs among all types of consumers.

“Climate change has brought about a significant impact on mankind and the world’s ecosystems. As a result, consumers look for products that both meet their nutritional and health needs and impose no harm upon the environment. Embracing the tide of sustainable development across the globe, we aim to advocate greener, healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.”

Innovation is the key to Yili’s growth, according to Dr Yun. “The dairy industry features a long industrial chain. In keeping with our philosophy of ‘No innovation, no future.’ we have built an innovation system covering the entire industrial chain, in a bid to establish a community for innovation that integrally incorporates all of our upstream, midstream and downstream partners.”

The supply chain

Upstream, Yili has developed a series of natural, functional raw milk that is rich in selenium, DHA or other elements through nutrition modulation technology and innovative feeding methods, which may help with methane emission control. At the midstream, Yili applies milk fat catalysed by enzymes to flavour in order to reduce fat in its products.

The group has also launched an intelligent platform on sweet-tasting design, creating tailored solutions for sugar reduction in dairy products. It employs digitalised, intelligent technologies to build green, smart factories with higher production and operational efficiency as well.

Downstream, Yili uses big data tools to capture and study market demands, so as to innovate and upgrade products on a constant basis. “With these efforts, we are able to provide our consumers with more nutritional, healthy products and better experiences,” Dr Yun says.

When manufacturing, the production of high-quality, sustainable products essentially indicates the optimisation of natural and human resources, he points out. “When pursuing sustainability, dairy companies are often challenged by the transition towards low-carbon operations. But I’d like to deem the challenge as an opportunity for growth. Green, low-carbon, sustainable operation and development can not only ease burdens imposed by climate change but also drive down costs and create economic value for the farming and dairy partners, thereby fostering their long-term competitiveness.”

In 2022, Yili’s Satine A2β-Casein Organic Pure Milk became the first net-zero carbon milk in China. With emissions reduced by applying the integration of planting and breeding on pastures, using clean energy for manufacturing, employing recyclable packages, and purchasing carbon credits, Yili makes up for the emissions from milk production, thus realising “net-zero”. Its sustainability aspect became a differentiating factor and made the product a great success in the market, Dr. Yun says.

Research and development are also key for dairy manufacturing, he notes. “Dairy manufacturers must improve their R&D capabilities and enhance their strength through innovation. We’re committed to the ‘consumer-centric’ and ‘no innovation, no future’ philosophies. Guided by these, we have developed innovative products tailored to consumers’ demands and received positive feedback, resulting in a large market share and widespread recognition. For example, through a decade of experiments, we discovered and applied a series of probiotic strains such as bifidobacterium lactis BL-99, which can promote digestion, regulate intestinal flora and enhance immunity.

“In addition, manufacturers should pursue industrial chain-wide, cross-disciplinary collaborations in order to make breakthroughs in fundamental research and translate innovative outcomes. In our case, Yili has teamed up with institutions including Wageningen University in the Netherlands,the University of Cambridge in the UK and Lincoln University in New Zealand via our innovation centres across the globe. We also pursue stronger cooperation throughout the industrial chain.”

Further proof of the group’s innovation is in the opening of integrated facilities, he says. “Four projects of Yili’s Future Intelligence and Healthy Valley are coming into operation in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, including a liquid milk production base, a milk powder production base, the Chilechuan Ecological Smart Farm, and the Yili Intelligent Manufacturing Experience Center. The Valley comprises a roughly 38-square-kilometer core area. It is a large complex integrating industry, urban life, and tourism, with the dairy industry as its core. It is not only establishing green, smart production bases, but also the development of dairy-related enterprise clusters and the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries. We look forward to cooperating with our fellow industry colleagues in the future.”

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“Our strategic repositioning and consolidation course of the past two years are working. We used synergies, restructured work areas and set up a cross-group management team. As expected, this had a positive impact on efficiency, especially in the second half of 2019,” explained Marian Heinz, CEO of the Frischpack Group, which includes Frischpack in Mailling and Baackes & Heimes in Viersen.

As an example, the “Ferdi Fuchs” license brand, with which the cheese experts from Baackes & Heimes were able to expand their market position in the food retail sector in 2019, also contributed to sustainable success.
At the same time, Frischpack entered into a new agreement with Exquisa for the cutting and packaging of fresh cheese slices in the food service sector. Implementation has been taking place since January 2020.

Frischpack also pushed ahead with the digitalisation of processes. The focus in 2019 was on the introduction of a new ERP system (= Enterprise Resource Planning). Due to good preparation, the software solution for controlling all business processes was integrated without major friction losses.

The Frischpack Group got off to a very good start in the current year, but due to the coronavirus crisis, the company is currently experiencing sharp declines in the food service sector. The reason is the exit restrictions or the requirement to close the catering business.

“Fortunately we have a broad base with our locations in Mailling and Viersen,” said Heinz. “Due to the currently strong demand from our retail and co-packing partners, we can partially compensate for the decline in the food service sector.”

Frischpack is looking confidently towards the year, but is concentrating in order to quickly and situationally look at market developments and then react.

At the same time, the company continues to work hand in hand with customers and suppliers on sustainable packaging solutions. The aim is to test sensible and safe alternatives to the previous composite materials and to evaluate them for their suitability for production.

The company is also setting a sustainable milestone this year in Mailling. If the carbon emissions at this location have been reduced by more than 50% in recent years, the goal for this year is to produce in a climate-neutral manner.

“Sustainability is the focus of our entrepreneurial activities. So, it is only a logical step that we are taking this year, despite everything,” Heinz added.

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The company is consistently pursuing new models of working with farmers to incentivise the adoption of new, sustainable farm management practices — for example, by maintaining long-term contracts with dairies to help alleviate short-term market volatility, thus allowing them to consider new ways of farming — and in 2018 committed to investing $6 million in soil health research over five years. By gaining a better understanding of the variables and nuances across growing regions, this research will enable Danone North America to better guide its farmer partners with regards to farm management and use of regenerative agriculture practices on their farms.

“As a company that is passionate about climate activism, we are pleased to be partnering with rePlant to support our farmers and bring new, innovative financial solutions to address climate change,” says Mariano Lozano, CEO of Danone North America. “Providing these loans mitigates the financial stress that transitioning to regenerative and organic farming practices places on our farmers and allows them to focus their energy on driving sustainable agriculture on their farms.”

The first of these loans has been provided to Kansas-based McCarty Family Farms, a partner of Danone North America for almost 10 years and co-owner of MVP dairy, winner of the International Dairy Foods Association 2020 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year award. McCarty family farm owners and fourth generation dairy farmers Mike, Clay, David and Ken McCarty will use the loan to install moisture probes on cropland surrounding their dairy, where water access issues are of concern, to reduce the amount of water used on crops that provide forage for the dairy cows. In addition to reducing water usage on their own farm, McCarty Family Farms is working with their local feed partnerships as well as the local watershed authority to see how this program may be expanded to other farms in the region to improve water consumption and aquifer longevity within the Ogallala aquifer.

“Our livelihood depends on the health of our natural resources,” says Ken McCarty of McCarty Family Farms and MVP Dairy. “We’ve always made caring for our land, air and water a top priority, so we are excited to receive the rePlant loan to help us continue to reduce water consumption on our farms and make a real impact in water conservation efforts in northwest Kansas.”

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Behind the strategy is the German Farmers’ Association, the German Raiffeisen Association, the Milk Industry Association, the Cooperative Dairy Interest Group and the Federal Association of the Private Dairy Industry.

The standard setting is to take social requirements into account and production standards are to be developed further, while creating added value for all links in the milk supply chain.

In case of the supply relationships, an early transfer of market signals to milk producers should enable a faster adjustment of the milk quantity. Systems for risk management of price fluctuations must also be significantly expanded by the players in the dairy industry.

Strategy 2030 is the starting signal for a common and ongoing process, the participants say. All major players in the German dairy industry are invited to contribute constructively to the implementation. Furthermore, the strategy and the individual measures are to be checked and readjusted at regular intervals on a common platform. An interim assessment is planned for 2025.

The technical work has taken place in nine different working groups on the most relevant topics in the dairy industry: sales promotion/industry communication; standard-setting; shaping agricultural policy; dairy structures and added value; supply relationship/dealing with volatilities; digitalisation; export/trade policy; research/teaching/training and sustainability.

The working groups involved a total of more than 100 experts from associations, research and business.

The post Germany’s dairy strategy appeared first on Dairy Industries International.

It was honoured for the project at its Lamprechtshausen cheese dairy that contributes to the better use of waste heat in various areas. The measures implemented save considerable amounts of energy and carbon emissions each year.

SalzburgMilch has been a climate active project partner of the Austrian Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism for a number of years and is committed to continuously reducing energy consumption, it said.

“Responsible use of resources has been of particular importance to SalzburgMilch for many years,” said Andreas Gasteiger, managing director of SalzburgMilch. “Many measures in a wide range of areas, such as the use of electric cars in the vehicle pool or various projects at our two company locations, also contribute to this. This has reduced our energy consumption by 14% in the past three years.”

At its site in Lamprechtshausen, two separately managed tanks, one as a heat store and one as a cold store (each with a capacity of 120m³), are used as a so-called heat swing. The whey produced during cheese production is cooled by a heat exchanger and the heat generated is stored in the warm tank of the heat swing.

In order to reach the necessary temperatures, the whey has to be cooled by means of a refrigeration system and the washing water has to be reheated by steam through natural gas boilers.

In the course of the project, the existing storage facilities are connected in series, so the usable storage volume is merged into a common, layered storage volume of 240m³. With this measure, the differences between waste heat generation and waste heat consumption can be compensated much better.

An additional heat exchanger for whey cooling enables the washing water to be directly heated with the 50°C warm whey from the hard cheese production, which means that primary energy is no longer required for heating. To the extent of the additional waste heat used, cooling energy for the whey is also saved.

These measures ensure significant reductions in natural gas (791,596 kWh/year), electricity (154,730 kWh/year) and CO2 (233,307 kg/year).

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This achievement not only exceeds the 13.6% improvement required under the scheme by 2020, but also the 15% target set under the UK Dairy Roadmap, and is the latest in a long line of sustainability wins for the industry over the last decade.

These findings are supported by the findings of this year’s Dairy UK Environmental Benchmarking Report, which also demonstrated the success of the sector in improving on a range of environmental metrics. Key achievements included a 20% increase in water efficiency; 94% of factory waste now being recycled or recovered; and only 1.4% of input lost as food waste.

Dairy UK chief executive Dr Judith Bryans said: “These results once again show how dairy processors have taken the initiative on environmental sustainability and are really driving forward positive changes. Of course, when it comes to sustainability our work is never done, but these results show that we can, and we are, making huge strides towards reducing our impact.”

Launched in 2008, the Dairy UK Environmental Benchmarking Report provides UK dairy processors the ability to compare their environmental performance anonymously against other sites in the sector, highlighting areas of success and improvement.

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Research indicates that the carbon footprint of dairy farms in Northern Ireland is lower than those of dairy farms in many other regions of Northwest Europe.

The Dairyman Interreg Project, which involves 132 dairy farms across 10 regions of Northwest Europe, indicated that the average Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions on Northern Ireland dairy farms was the second lowest in the study, an indication of the significant achievement by Northern Ireland dairy farmers.

The fact book showcases the cutting edge research on carbon sequestration being carried out at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and shines a light on the investments and measures taken by local farmers to lower their carbon footprint by investing in renewable energy and making other efficiency measures.

The most recent statistics from DAERA show that total emissions (excluding sequestration) related to milk production decreased from a population average of 1,927 (CO2e/kg ECM) in 1990 to 1,272 (CO2e/kg ECM) in 2017. Whilst milk production in the dairy sector has expanded by 73% since 1990, the total number of dairy cows over this period has increased by only 14%, meaning this improvement in carbon footprint has been driven by substantial increases in milk yield per cow.

Dr Mike Johnston, chief executive of the Dairy Council NI said the local dairy sector recognises the climate challenge: “Over the past few years there has been increased public awareness about climate change and the actions that we, as a society, need to take to tackle those risks. The dairy sector recognises the urgent need to adapt and change our practices.

“This publication celebrates the fantastic work already being done in this area. The important work at Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) develops the science behind the application of technology and management practices on farms that will reduce emissions, and demonstrates how these are being implemented on dairy farms throughout Northern Ireland.

“It also displays the investment by Northern Ireland dairy processors to reduce their emissions, and demonstrates the positive impact that innovation and effective management is having in reducing the dairy sector’s carbon footprint.”

Aghadowey farmer Hugh Harbison, whose farm provides a case study in the EU Sustainable Dairy Fact Book said: “My generation is much more environmentally aware. They want tasty food that has low food mileage and low carbon footprint.”

See the full report here

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In 2010, Palsgaard set itself the goal of completely carbon neutral production within ten years, and met it in 2018 – two years ahead of schedule. Over the course of those eight years, the company reduced its net CO2 emissions from 12,029 tonnes to zero. In total, its carbon reductions amounted to 56,175 tonnes, which is equivalent to the amount produced by 4,885 EU households in a year.

Palsgaard achieved its target primarily by changing the energy sources used by its factories. Strategies included a switch from heavy fuel oil to certified biogas, and the use of renewables. At Palsgaard’s main site in Denmark, all electricity is sourced from hydro power, and indoor heating is powered by burning home-grown straw rather than oil.

Its factory in the Netherlands, meanwhile, has over 800 solar panels and has used only renewable energy (solar, wind and biogas) since the start of 2018.

As far as Palsgaard is aware, it is the only emulsifier manufacturer to achieve carbon neutrality but it hopes other companies will follow suit.

Palsgaard CEO Jakob Thøisen said: “We’re delighted to have been honoured with this award. Climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world right now and sustainability is not only hugely important to us but to our customers too. The production of emulsifiers is highly energy-intensive because it requires very high temperatures and high pressure, but we’ve shown that it’s possible to go carbon-neutral. It’s fantastic for everyone working at Palsgaard that our efforts have been recognised.”

The Fi Innovation Awards celebrate companies and organisations breaking new ground in the food and beverage industry. The Sustainability Champion Award is given to the entrant that best demonstrates a measurable sustainability strategy championing environmental or social sustainability.

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After contacting the dairy company and presenting their concerns about the environmental impact of plastic straws in 2018, Müller has committed to removing all plastic straws from its products by 2020.

The Scottish school accepted an offer to work with the dairy company to trial Müller’s new paper straw, which is attached to their recyclable school milk cartons.

Having already removed 10,000 tonnes of plastic from Müller Milk bottles since 2016, the initiative builds upon Müller’s continued work to drive down plastic use. Müller’s fresh and flavoured milk bottles are 100% recyclable, and having secured appropriate supplies of recycled HDPE, up to 40% of the plastic in Müller’s fresh milk bottles is made from recycled material. The dairy company has also removed a further 700 tonnes of plastic per annum by lightweighting it’s recyclable fresh milk bottles and milk caps.

Müller’s new paper straw is fully recyclable, it has been developed in partnership with Tetra Pak over the last 18 months and is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paperboard.

The company is currently undertaking further trials at its Bridgwater site, using the new paper straws.

If successful, Bridgwater will begin the permanent roll out of the paper straws by the end of March 2020. Müller’s other school milk producing sites would follow by the end of 2020, eliminating 48 tonnes of plastic every year.

Lisa Perrie, principal teacher at Sunnyside Primary School said: “It is wonderful for our young conservationists to get their hands on a product first discussed between the Sunnyside Ocean Defenders and Müller over eighteen months ago.

“Müller keeping the children up to date on developments not only shows our young people that their opinion is valued, but that companies like Müller can be the change in reducing the impact of single use plastic. Our Ocean Defenders appreciate that this took time, investment and quite a bit of elbow grease from the Müller team, but the quality of the product today shows that this hard work has paid off. Our pupils loved it!”

Gareth Budd, head of customer innovation at Müller Milk & Ingredients said: “We’ve already removed 10,000 tonnes of plastic from our packaging in recent years, our fresh milk bottles are 100% recyclable, and they contain up to 40% recycled material.

“But to ensure that future generations continue to benefit from the goodness of fresh school milk, we recognise the need to continually innovate and update our packaging.

“The pupils at Sunnyside Primary School have a real passion for positive change, and were an inspiration. We thank them for their valued participation in the trial, and now we’re fully focused on removing all plastic straws from our school milk by the end of 2020.”

Charles Brand, President of Tetra Pak Europe & Central Asia said: “It is important that we launch a sustainable paper straw that is fully functional, recyclable and does not compromise on food safety. We also recognise our responsibility to provide sustainable solutions to our customers that will enable us, as a collective, to move towards a low carbon circular economy.

“We believe this trial is a fantastic way to truly test and receive feedback, and it’s great to receive such a positive reaction to using the new paper straws. We are happy to work together with Müller to roll out paper straws and help them realise their commitment to drive down plastic.”

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Invited speakers include:

• Dr Nicoline de Haan, International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya
• Ms Anna-Maria Baka, World Organisation for Animal Health
• Dr Haim Leibovich,Consultant on dairy systems, Israel
• Dr Sophie Gallier, Dairy Goat Co-operative, New Zealand
• Assoc Prof Mutamed Ayyash, UAE University, United Arab Emirates
• Prof Thom Huppertz, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
• Assist Prof Nurit Argov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Presentations will describe the latest scientific advances about milk originating from other animals than cows on the fields of human nutrition, science and technology, milk production and quality, as well as advances on animal health.

The Scientific Committee is pleased to invite authors to submit their abstracts for oral and poster presentations. The deadline for abstract submissions is 20 December 2019.

Conference topics include:

• Sustainability: socio-economic and environmental aspects
•  Animal health, udder health and milking efficiency
• Milk production strategies
• Novel milk products & health impact
• Processing technologies
• Quality & safety “Farm to Table”

The event will be of interest to scientists and other professionals involved in the sheep’s, goat’s and other non-cow’s dairy sectors including milk producers, dairy processing industry, trade associations, academia and governments. More information is available here.

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To build the database, Arla’s 9,900 farmer owners, 2,300 of which are UK based, will input externally verified data from their farm covering everything from herd size and housing, to milk volumes, feed, energy and fuel usage on farm and renewable energy production. This information will then give the farmer an overall environmental score and help identify areas they can further reduce their on farm carbon emissions.

Ash Amirahmadi, managing director Arla Foods UK said: “Sustainable foods must not only minimise environmental impact, but also be nutritionally adequate, remain affordable and support biodiversity ecosystems. Arla is working towards all this in the production of its dairy products. And with Arla farmers producing around 14 billion litres of milk a year, on farm changes could have significant impact to the cooperatives overall emissions.”

Current measurements show Arla farmers already producing milk with less than half the average emissions per litre compared to global dairy production. However, the data captured will provide bespoke data for each farmer on what level of carbon emissions they produce per litre of milk and identify where there is room for improvement. Average reductions on each farm of 3% per year would see Arla on track to hit its on farm carbon reduction targets of 30% by 2030. With farmers who participate in the programme being paid more for their milk, it is expected at least 90% of Arla’s farmer owners will do so – meaning this new initiative could have a huge impact on emissions overall.

Farmer owner David Christensen, based in Oxfordshire, said: “Farming is a long-term business with long-term investments and most farmers are working to pass their farm onto the next generation in a better shape than when they took it over. Caring for the world around us plays a huge part in that and having the science based targets to help us keep on improving will ensure Arla’s farmers go even further with their efforts. I’m very proud to think we are trying to improve the countryside whilst making a living producing milk.”

The announcement marks the latest in a serious of sustainability measures taken by Arla and its farmer owners. These include participating in the development of a global and scientifically approved way to measure carbon sequestration, Arla’s own research to evaluate ways methane emissions might be reduced through feed choices and experimenting with ways to increase biodiversity on farm.

Ash Amirahmadi added: “Whilst there is a lot of negative comment about the impact of food production to the environment, farmers are, in reality, the caretakers of the countryside and inextricably linked to many positive natural process that are critical to caring for the world around us. This initiative shows the commitment of Arla farmers to care for Britain’s countryside and play their part in tackling our climate emergency.”

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“We listen very carefully to the buyers of our products”, said Kati Janhunen, brand & category manager at Arla. “Those who choose our Arla Luonto+ yoghurt, for example, consider sustainability to be very important.”

Walki, a globally leading manufacturer of barrier packaging materials, is one of the few suppliers of aluminium-free, flexible, paper-based lid material for single-portion cups.

“The product can be fully recycled in the normal paper recycling process,” said Heikki Lumme, flexible packaging business line manager at Walki.

“And when it comes to the CO2 balance, Walki-Lid beats the conventional material aluminium many times over. This makes it particularly suitable for companies that are seriously committed to sustainability and to reducing their emissions throughout the supply chain.”

Walki-Lid enables dairy products to be packaged completely sustainably – without aluminium and on the basis of renewable and recyclable raw materials. They are made of Walki-Lid material supplied by Walki and manufactured by the Finnish paper, converting and packaging company Pyroll.

Marko Manu, sales manager at Pyroll, said: “Walki-Lid has an excellent aroma, water vapour and gas barrier, is easy to remove from the cup and yet tear-resistant. It is easy to print and matches the packaging processes of our customers. In addition to the technical processability, the quality meets the food safety standards, protects the product optimally and guarantees its shelf life”.

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Developed for one of Emsur’s customers, Nestlé Chile, the unique feature of this banderole is its releasing layer that enables users to remove the label without tearing the paper so it is easier to separate it from the container, thus contributing to the recyclability of plastics. This is another breakthrough for Nestlé, which last year announced its commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

There are two structures available for this banderole, monolayer or duplex, to meet the needs of different market segments such as yogurts, desserts or beverages. This solution is commercially available in Chile for the Nestlé Batido brand and the multinational has launched an extensive communications campaign to mentor people in how to recycle properly with this packaging solution.

Approximately 1,200 tons of plastic could now be recycled thanks to this initiative, an ambitious figure that can only be achieved if everyone disposes of their pots responsibly at the recycling sites set up by TriCiclos, an engineering and consulting company that has provided 39 sites throughout Chile with new special waste disposal containers for Nestlé Batido pots.

Through this project, Emsur, the flexible plastic packaging division of Grupo Lantero, together with Coexpan, the rigid packaging division that makes the PS container, maintain their sustainability commitment in accordance with the circular economy and recyclability milestones.

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“Mars Wrigley is committed to the future of our planet, and this successful pitch event alongside Land O’Lakes truly showcased our philosophy that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today,” said Alastair Child, vice president of global sustainability for Mars Wrigley. “We were pleased to help bring together new ideas and big thinkers to help meet the challenge of reducing dairy farm emissions, with solutions that start on the farm, with the farmer.”

“America’s dairy farmers are outstanding innovators who are leading on the adoption of new solutions to safeguard the environment and reduce emissions,” said Matt Carstens, senior vice president of Minnesota-based Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN. “With support from Mars Wrigley and the help and insights of Land O’Lakes member-owners, this successful pitch event showcased just a few of the exciting new ideas and offerings being developed to provide farmers with new tools in the fight against climate change.”

Blue Ocean Barns, located in the San Francisco Bay area, which is developing a cattle feed additive produced from seaweed that aims to reduce enteric methane emissions, was selected at the event to participate in a pilot project with up to $200,000 in support from Mars Wrigley.

“Blue Ocean Barns appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with Land O’Lakes and Mars Wrigley toward providing farmers with a new solution to help reduce GHG emissions,” said Joan King Salwen, CEO of Blue Ocean Barns. “American farmers and ranchers have long been stewards of the land from which they produce our food, and today innovative farmers are stepping up to lead with climate solutions. Blue Ocean Barns is here to support their work.”

Throughout the pitch event selection process, Land O’Lakes member-owners nationwide played a central role. As one of America’s largest farmer-owned co-operatives, Land O’Lakes brings the direct experience, insights and knowledge of dairy farm families across the nation.

Member-owners of the co-operative helped vet potential participants for the August pitch event, which was presented live before an audience of 150 members, including dairy farmers and rural co-op leaders. In addition, while in Minneapolis, the selected participants received direct feedback from Land O’Lakes member-owners during a series of mentoring sessions aimed at helping them further improve their solutions for on-farm use.

Other companies showcased at the pitch event included:

BioFiltro and Organix – creating a wastewater treatment system powered by earthworms and microbes to help reduce emissions, and remove suspended solids and organic nitrogen from liquid manure.

Livestock Water Recycling – showcasing a system to segregate and concentrate manure nutrients into two valuable fertiliser products, while recycling clean water for reuse or consumption and reducing emissions.

Beyond The Dome – a water treatment company developing technology to degrade the organic material in liquid manure streams and produce drinking-quality water for reuse, while reducing emissions.

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