Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announces update to dairy sustainability indicators

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® — established under the leadership of America’s dairy producers and importers — today announced a 60-day stakeholder consultation period for the review of proposed indicators in the Stewardship and Sustainability Guide for U.S. Dairy. Launched in 2013, the Guide provides a voluntary, science-based framework for the dairy value chain to measure and communicate sustainability progress.

The proposed indicators are the result of a multi-year, science-based effort, led by the Innovation Center’s Sustainability Alliance, to identify and define the sustainability indicators that matter most. The new indicators for both farms as well as processors and manufacturers have been through an extensive review process by members of the dairy community, including farm cooperatives, dairy processors and manufacturers. They are now available for review by other key stakeholders such as dairy retailers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The document can be viewed and comments submitted online at USDairy.com/SustainabilityGuide through March 10, 2016. “Consumers, customers and other stakeholders are increasingly interested in understanding where their food comes from and how it is made,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “The Guide delivers on our commitment to work collaboratively, from farm to retail, to advance and communicate dairy’s environmental stewardship and social responsibility.”

Farm indicators address soil health, landscape stewardship, resource recovery, feed management, and water quality and quantity. For crop- and field-specific topic areas, the Innovation Center proposes adopting the metrics developed by Field to Market, the leading U.S. initiative focused on the sustainability of row crops. The new processor and manufacturer indicators include resource recovery and air emissions.

“The Stewardship and Sustainability Guide for U.S. Dairy provides a unified and standard system for measuring and communicating dairy’s sustainability progress,” said Joan Behr, senior director of communications and brand management, Foremost Farms USA. “The indicators allow us to support our customers’ sustainable sourcing goals, and the industry-wide alignment is essential to remain competitive.”

The Guide’s initial indicators, released in 2013, included greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy intensity and animal care at the farm level, and GHG emissions, energy intensity, water quality and quantity, labor management, and community contributions for dairy processors and manufacturers.

The new indicators are expected to be released in May 2016. To learn more about the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment, visit USDairy.com/Sustainability

###

Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy^® is a forum for the dairy industry to work together pre-competitively to address barriers and opportunities to foster innovation and increase sales. The Innovation Center aligns the collective resources of the industry to offer consumers nutritious dairy products and ingredients, and promote the health of people, communities, the planet and the industry. The Board of Directors for the Innovation Center includes dairy industry leaders representing key farmer organizations, dairy cooperatives, companies, manufacturers and brands. The Innovation Center is staffed by Dairy Management Inc^™. Visit USDairy.com for more information about the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.