September 18th, 2009
From Green Right Now Reports
Leading organizations from the world’s dairy industry say they will sign a Global Dairy Agenda for Action during the World Dairy Summit Sept. 24 in Berlin, Germany. The Global Dairy Agenda for Action is an industry pledge to reduce carbon emissions as part of its contribution to help address global warming. It will be signed by seven organizations on behalf of the world’s dairy associations and companies.
The declaration also will seek the support of policy makers to provide a supportive regulatory environment that recognizes the important economic, social and environmental contributions of the dairy industry.
“This Agenda for Action represents an unprecedented level of cooperation across national borders and along the dairy supply chain. The global dairy community and its partners have pooled resources, knowledge and projects to achieve a more sustainable future,” Povl Krogsgaard, deputy managing director of Arla Foods, said in a statement.
The declaration is being signed by Eastern and Southern African Dairy Association (ESADA); European Dairy Association (EDA); Pan-American Dairy Federation (FEPALE); Global Dairy Platform (GDP); International Dairy Federation (IDF); International Federation of Agriculture Producers (IFAP); Sustainable Agricultural Initiative Platform (SAI Platform).
Dairy Industry participants have already begun action in areas like emissions reduction, energy efficiency, transportation efficiency, reduction in loss of milk and milk products, resource efficiency and life cycle analysis and management. These individual activities are not specifically defined in the declaration, but they continue to be major initiatives for the dairy industry throughout the world.
The Global Dairy Agenda for Action will include a five point commit that includes the development of a standard method for assessing the carbon footprint of milk and dairy products. It also looks to promote adoption of best practices among dairy farms and establish tools to facilitate the measurement and monitoring of emissions on farms and in dairy manufacturing.
The effort also is intended to educate farmers about agricultural emissions and their opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as how to share information and develop cost effective mitigation technologies.
