A New Era in Sustainable Dairy: The Dairy Roadmap Coalition

In a significant move towards sustainability, the dairy industry unveiled a new coalition on July 7, marking the first-of-its-kind collaboration with leading food companies. The initiative, known as the Dairy Roadmap, empowers farmers by ensuring they have a voice alongside major retailers, foodservice, and wholesale organizations, all striving to meet ambitious climate, nature, and water goals while maintaining high standards of animal welfare.

The Dairy Roadmap introduces a unified governance structure with a newly formed steering group. This group includes major stakeholders such as AHDB, Dairy UK, NFU, Arla Foods UK, Dale Farm, First Milk, Lactalis UK & Ireland, Muller UK & Ireland, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, McDonald’s, and Sysco GB. Their objective is to collectively set the strategic direction and facilitate shared responsibility for environmental progress across the supply chain.

The coalition's focus will be the forthcoming Sustainable Dairy Pathways Report, scheduled for publication in 2026. This independently conducted report will emphasize the funding and innovations required to achieve net-zero emissions and meet other sustainability objectives. Industry participants will contribute to shaping this critical document.

Bas Padberg, Chair of the Dairy Roadmap and managing director of Arla Foods UK, emphasized the importance of finding sustainable ways to provide nutrient-dense foods while minimizing environmental impact.

"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," he stated.

Judith Bryans, Chief Executive of Dairy UK, highlighted the coalition's potential to unite the value chain towards achieving net-zero, while also protecting and enhancing nature.

"We’re so excited to see to see the initiative evolving to meet the challenges of the future – uniting the value chain to move forward as one in reaching net zero, while protecting and enhancing nature along the way," she said.

The Dairy Roadmap, initially launched in 2008, has already achieved notable milestones, including having 80% of farmers calculating their carbon footprint and 65% of managed farmland participating in environmental schemes. The sector aims to continue this progress, setting ambitious future targets, including zero contributions towards global warming by 2050.

The coalition represents a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to make dairy production more sustainable and resilient, providing a coordinated approach to tackle the environmental challenges of the modern era.