Lifecycle assessment of carbon in the Australian dairy industry
Background:
In response to community concerns about sustainability of natural resources, the dairy industry identified the need for greater transparency/consistency in quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of products. "Carbon footprint" refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions emitted over the life cycle of a product or process.
In recognition of these developments, Dairy Australia is preparing to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to determine the carbon footprint of selected products. The LCA carbon footprint project will be carried out in line with international standards and the International Dairy Federation's (IDF) "A Common Carbon Footprint Methodology for the Dairy Sector", and will focus on bovine milk products only.
Project objective:
Establish a transparent, consistent methodology for quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of dairy products. This methodology will help ensure access to international markets that are increasingly demanding information on environmental performance.
Project scope:
The project aims to identify the Australian average greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product for ten major Australian dairy products produced for local and export. The ten products are from the following categories:
- Butters and spreads
- Cheese
- Fresh products
- Milk powders
- UHT products
- Whey
The primary outcomes of the project will be:
- a report outlining the Australian industry average carbon footprints of ten dairy products
- a framework and systems that enable reproducible assessments and reporting of product carbon footprint
- building the capability of farmers and processors in relation to carbon foot printing
- benchmark information to support sustainability indicators, reporting and strategic planning.
Outcomes/benefits:
Customers in dairy markets are increasingly demanding information on environmental performance. Failure to meet this requirement can potentially impact on demand for Australian dairy products.The outcomes of the carbon footprint study will provide the following benefits:
- allow industry to respond to requests from customers including large European and American supermarkets and food suppliers
- establish a framework for reproducible assessment and reporting of dairy products’ carbon footprint that meets the needs of industry stakeholders in a uniform way that manufacturers can adopt
- help industry gain a better understanding of performance information and prepare for increasing customer demand for this type of information
- help inform capital, research and development investment to further advance sustainable supply chains
- identify life cycle phases with the highest environmental impacts and highlight areas of potential improvement along the supply chain
- enable benchmarking at both the farm and corporate level to help drive best practice
More information:
For more information, please contact Neil van Buuren, Dairy Australia Program Manager Resource Management and Technology