How Arla farmers reduce dairy's carbon footprint

Dairy is part of a healthy and sustainable diet due to its nutrient density. And, as is the case for all food production, it comes with a carbon cost.

As one of the world's largest dairy cooperatives, we have a great responsibility - and at the same time a great opportunity – to do something about it.  

Since 2015, our farmer owners have reduced emissions per kilo of milk by 9 per cent. Our most recent Climate Check data shows that Arla farmers' average carbon footprint is 1.12 kg of CO2e per kilo of milk.

But even though we've made progress since 2015, the number is not a result – it’s a baseline for improving further.

With help from Arla’s Climate Check tool, our farmer owners now have a clear blueprint for how they can triple the speed of CO2e reductions on their farms during this decade.

Read on to find out how.

Arla’s Climate Check is a tool developed specifically for our cooperative farmer owners to identify their carbon footprint and reduce emissions from dairy farming effectively.  

The farmers submit data about their:

• Feed composition
• Use of fertilizer
• Number of animals
• Manure handling
• Crop production
• Use of electricity, fuel and renewable energy

The Climate Checks are done every year and enable the farmers to follow their own progression and to benchmark against data from other Arla farms. 

The insights from the compiled data is also shared with politicians, research partners and industry stakeholders to help drive an effective transition for the whole dairy industry.