Goulburn Valley Creamery chief operating officer Michael Kelly with supervisor Sheelah Hermoso at the Kyabram factory.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
As industries across the nation wrestle with emissions reduction, Australian dairy processors are quietly cutting greenhouse gas emissions, as it stands by more than 40 per cent since 2011.
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To showcase this progress, Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF) has released its second industry publication, Stories of Sustainable Progress, featuring case studies and data from processors across the country.
The publication highlights emissions reductions over the past decade, alongside gains in waste reduction, packaging redesign and resource efficiency.
ADPF Chief Executive Officer Janine Waller said the publication demonstrated real, measurable progress delivered on factory floors across regional Australia.
“Dairy processors are cutting emissions while protecting jobs and continuing to deliver nutritious dairy foods to Aussie families,” Ms Waller said.
The latest data ‒ collected by Dairy Australia on behalf of the Dairy Manufacturers Sustainability Council and Australian Dairy Sustainability Framework ‒ shows processors have achieved:
• a 40.5 per cent reduction in absolute emissions since 2010-11.
• a 34.5 per cent reduction in emissions intensity since 2010-11 and 16.7 per cent since 2015-16.
• 85 per cent of waste diverted from landfill.
Across Australia’s dairy regions, processors are installing biogas plants, upgrading water treatment infrastructure, improving logistics and redesigning packaging to reduce environmental impact and future-proof facilities.
“These investments are strengthening Australia’s food manufacturing capability and are critical for the long-term resilience of regional dairy communities,” Ms Waller said.
From biogas projects at Saputo Dairy Australia and Girgarre’s Australian Consolidated Milk, to solar installations at Noumi, That’s Amore Cheese and ProviCo, processors are cutting emissions through targeted energy investments.
Waste reduction is also accelerating, with Bega Group and Bulla Dairy Foods achieving waste diversion rates of about 90 per cent, while Brownes Dairy has invested in new de-packaging technology to recover more materials from waste streams.
Ms Waller said targeted, practical co-investment between industry and government had helped dairy processors de-risk major infrastructure upgrades that individual businesses could not always tackle alone.
Goulburn Valley Creamery’s $50 million investment, which attracted Victorian Government support, in on-site water treatment infrastructure has doubled annual milk throughput to 100 million litres and created 17 new jobs.
“We are also upgrading our wastewater system, which will treat an average of 430 kilolitres each day,” Creamery chief executive officer Mancel Hickey said.
“Once treated, the water will be stored and recycled for irrigation on local farmland, improving self-sufficiency and environmental outcomes,” Mr Hickey said.
Part of the upgraded treatment plant at GV Creamery.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
