Reducing emissions must involve the entire life cycle of milk

Last 18th and 19th of November 2024, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España, as part of the European project VISIONARY, organized a meeting to address the sustainable future of the dairy sector. It took place in Galicia, the community with the highest milk production in Spain. This Cross Country Visit and the SPI brought together experts, cooperatives and international entities with a common objective: to discuss strategies for the decarbonization of the sector.

Among the attendees were representatives of the cooperatives CLUN, AIRA, Llet Nostra, COVAP, COBADU, Agrocantabria, Central Lechera Asturiana and Kaiku along with members of the federations of Catalonia, Asturias and Galicia. It was also attended by the University of Santiago, the Galician Food Quality Agency (AGACAL), Lactalis, and the Galician Food Cluster (CLUSAGA). At the international level, representatives of the Association of Organic Milk Producers of Scotland, Highclere Consulting, Agriduemila Hub Innovation Srl and the dairy cooperatives of Trento (Italy) and the Portuguese Lacticoop and Lactogal attended.
The objectives set by the large supermarket and industrial companies, the pressure from consumers and institutions mark the future steps of the dairy sector to reduce its emissions. Still without a consensus on the objectives set, the dairy sector and the cooperatives are analyzing possible alternatives to meet the demands, always with a view to Scope 3, which implies that reductions must cover the entire life cycle of the milk. That is, from the farm to its distribution.

Among the alternatives discussed at the SPI, the most promising are the formulation of feed with raw materials with a low carbon footprint, the use of additives that reduce emissions, and the improvement of production efficiency through genetic advances and optimal farm management. And also as a cross-cutting objective of the workshop, the links between science – stakeholder and public administration to achieve the decarbonization of the sector were analyzed. Highlighting how SPI thought they could be improved, and the role that each of them would play.