UK retailer Tesco has joined forces with its milk suppliers, Arla and Müller UK & Ireland, for a partnership that seeks to put sustainability at the heart of the dairy industry.
The Future Dairy Partnership is a ‘significant step’ towards uniting the dairy industry to accelerate the reduction in emissions, farm in harmony with nature, and commit to higher animal welfare standards, the UK retailer noted.
Ashwin Prasad, chief commercial officer at Tesco, stated, “We’ve been playing a leading role in transitioning to a low-carbon agriculture sector for some time, through the close long-term partnerships we have with our Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG) farmers.
“The group has pioneered groundbreaking work on a number of areas, including animal welfare improvements, carbon footprint’ing, and introducing innovations such as methane-reducing additives.”
Farm Emissions
Tesco, Arla and Müller have pledged to bring together organisations from across the dairy industry to reduce on-farm emissions by 30% by 2030.
As climate change is already impacting food production in the UK, uncertainty around the future of the dairy industry is leading to a reduced supply of milk. This, in turn, has the potential to affect food security.
The partnership will see all 400 of TSDG farmers across the UK joining the initiative.
The suppliers and retailers are also broadening the partnership by reaching out to other organisations across the dairy industry for input and support.
Prasad added, “What’s clear is that, to achieve our stretching climate and nature goals, we must work together as an industry to implement transformational improvements at pace, so we’re delighted to be partnering with Arla and Müller on this project.
“It’s critical we continue to ensure farmers play a pivotal role in this work, and we look forward to working with them as the work of the partnership is established.”
Tesco’s farmer suppliers are being consulted on the programme and will be key in creating the programme road map, the retailer noted.
Future Dairy Partnership
As part of the partnership, Arla and Müller will work together to innovate, share learnings, and collaborate to achieve emission reduction targets in the dairy supply chain.
The partnership will focus on various key areas, including the implementation of innovative measures in dairy farms, such as the trial and roll-out of methane-reducing feed additives, among others.
They will also launch an industry-wide report highlighting the pathway to more sustainable dairy, and the innovation and financial support needed across the agriculture sector to achieve this ambition.
A sustainable dairy blueprint will be created to provide farmers with clear guidelines on sustainability targets and ethical practices.
It will also ensure that farmers and processors will have the flexibility to select the methods that best suit their operations and help them meet these targets.
Bas Padberg, managing director at Arla Foods UK, commented, “We can do more together than we can alone, and with real collaboration we can drive a transformation. That’s why, through Arla’s initiation of the partnership, Arla and Tesco welcome the rest of the dairy industry to join us on this journey.”
Rob Hutchison, chief executive of Müller Milk & Ingredients, added, “We’re delighted to work together with Tesco and Arla on initiatives like the Future Dairy Partnership, which are key in helping us achieve our goal of creating a better dairy future.”
