Dairy Industry Unveils ‘Net Zero Initiative” by 2050
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy unveiled a ‘Net Zero Initiative’ today hopes to drive the industry to achieve carbon neutrality, optimized water usage and improved water quality by 2050.
“With the entire dairy community at the table—from farmers and cooperatives to processors, household brands and retailers—we’re leveraging U.S. dairy’s innovation, diversity and scale to drive continued environmental progress and create a more sustainable planet for future generations,” says Mike Haddad, chairman of the Innovation Center.
The Innovation Center also announced a multi-year partnership with Nestle, including a $10 million commitment, to support the Net Zero Initiative and scale up access to environmental practices and resources on farms across the country.
“Scaling up climate-smart agricultural initiatives is to key to Nestle’s ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will help reduce the carbon footprint of many of our brands,” says Jim Wells, Nestle USA chief supply officer.
In 2008, the U.S. dairy industry was the first agricultural sector to commission a life cycle assessment on fluid milk, which showed that the dairy industry accounts for 2% of total GHG emissions. Back then, the industry set a goal of reducing carbon emissions 25% by 2020.
Research published earlier this year shows the industry likely will fall short of that goal, reducing emissions by 19% between 2007 and 2017. But that same study shows that producing a gallon of milk requires 30% less water and 21% less than it did in 2007—still a remarkable achievement.
