Dairy Food Waste
The Dairy Food Waste Action Plan is the Australian dairy industry’s response to the Federal Government’s goal of halving food waste by 2030.
Dairy Sector Food Waste Action Plan
Launched in July 2023, the plan identifies ten key actions to reduce food waste across the dairy supply chain, from manufacturing to consumer. These actions include improving inventory systems, investing in R&D, partnering with food rescue organisations, using sustainable packaging and educating consumers.
Objectives
- Provide a commercially realistic roadmap to help the dairy industry meet its 2030 food waste target.
- Increase supply chain transparency to improve efficiency, sustainability and profitability.
- Enable cross-industry collaboration to reduce environmental impact.
Delivering on the Action Plan
Following the launch of the plan, the project Delivering on the Dairy Food Waste Action Plan began, targeting the dairy manufacturing sector which is the supply chain’s largest source of food waste.
It focuses on two priority actions:
- Action 1: Monitor dairy food waste across the supply chain and establish an industry working group.
- Action 2: Implement practices that prevent process wastes.
Key project outcomes include:
- Development of a Raw Milk Equivalence Calculator.
- A second round of data collection for the Dairy Food Waste Account.
- Waste assessments across ten manufacturing sites.
- Implementation plans to guide future waste reduction efforts.
- Establishment of an Industry Food Waste Working Group.