An updated Dairy Roadmap is coming – and dairy farmers are at the heart of it

For the first time, farmers will work alongside processors, industry bodies, major retailers and foodservice outlets to drive the change needed to hit key environmental goals. The significant milestone will see key organisations from across the full value chain come together for a new era of The Dairy Roadmap, to collaborate and build a more resilient and sustainable future.

Through the collaboration, a new steering group has been established to set the strategic direction of the Roadmap.

The steering group consists of:

• AHDB
• Dairy UK
• NFU
• Arla Foods UK
• Dale Farm
• First Milk
• Lactalis UK & Ireland
• Müller UK & Ireland
• Tesco
• Sainsbury’s
• Morrisons
• McDonald’s
• Sysco GB 

Crucially, the group will also be responsible for the creation of a new Sustainable Dairy Pathways Report, which will specifically address what is needed to achieve our environmental ambitions and provide economic modelling.

Co-created with the full value chain, with a working group chaired by a dairy farmer, the independent report will outline exactly what is needed for the agriculture sector to achieve its own, and the Government's, sustainability goals.

In the coming months, dairy farmers and other industry stakeholders across the UK will be invited to help shape the independent report.

In a new era for The Dairy Roadmap, the focus will be on these core areas:

• Reducing our environmental impact by demonstrating our commitment to continual improvement, to help meet our international environmental targets
• Protecting water and nature, and growing the existing biodiversity on farm, all while safeguarding animal welfare
• Helping to make our sector more resilient; acting now enables the sector to steer its own future. With threats of burdensome and costly regulation coming down the line, the sector is determined to act now to demonstrate how the industry can drive forward improvement

As Bas Padberg, Chair of The Dairy Roadmap and Managing Director of Arla Foods UK, explains:

“We have to find ways of feeding a growing population and providing nutrient-rich foods that nourish people.

"Dairy has a key role to play in this, but we know that as an industry, we also need to ensure that we limit our impact on the environment and bring down emissions.

“Collaborating across the industry and with the biggest retailers and foodservice partners shows the commitment that we have in our sector to create a more resilient and sustainable future for our food.

"As a natural source of nutrition, the future for dairy is bright, and I look forward to leading the collaborative effort to drive real change.”

The Dairy Roadmap began in 2008, setting out a series of targets to tackle the major environmental impacts of producing liquid milk. In 2011, it was expanded to include all dairy products.

The Dairy Roadmap is the most successful cross-industry initiative within the dairy sector, and through it the UK dairy industry has consistently set and achieved targets aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of the entire supply chain.

On its 10-year anniversary, the Dairy Roadmap celebrated its success, including reductions in water and energy use and the implementation of carbon management plans.

This new and expanded governance structure builds on this rich history of progress.