“If you want to go far, go together.”
This well-known proverb is an ideal way to describe the work of Pathways to Dairy Net Zero’s Dairy Processing Task Force.
The pre-competitive platform brings together companies from across the globe to share best practices, exchange ideas, and inspire innovation. With participants spanning multiple regions and climates, the workstream creates opportunities for learning that are hard to replicate elsewhere.
Global dairy value chain leaders such as Saputo and TetraPak have immersed themselves in the workstream, both sharing and learning from each other on how to reduce emissions in processing practices and set benchmarks.
Saputo’s Max Maxim, a specialist with the company’s Corporate Responsibility division, says he has obtained a lot of takeaways by regularly engaging in the group.
“This involvement ensures that Saputo contributes insights from its operations, learns from industry peers, and helps shape the task force’s agenda to reflect the evolving priorities of the dairy sector,” Maxim said.
“Participation enables dairy processors to stay informed on emerging decarbonization technologies and practices, contribute to shaping industry-wide solutions, and benefit from shared experiences that accelerate progress toward net-zero goals.”
Tetra Pak provides industry leadership for the task force, which has helped the company share best practices and understand the opportunities and challenges of dairy processors in reducing emissions, water use and product loss
Tetra Pak Global Account Director Heinrich , who helps drive the work of the task force, says the benefits go beyond emissions numbers. It’s also about fostering a community of problem-solvers facing similar challenges.
“but it’s a possibility to learn from peers, from other people in the industry,” he said. “Ideas can be shared that maybe open up doors and avenues that you have not thought about yourself.”
Concentrating on Emissions Goals
Working together in a pre-competitive environment like the one that this P2DNZ workstream creates has allowed companies to continue to make progress on their emissions reduction goals.
” We already have solutions that can deliver significant emissions reductions by 2030, but now is the time to accelerate implementation and start innovating for the breakthroughs needed by 2040. The urgency is clear, the dairy industry needs to act faster to meet the targets we’ve set and ensure a resilient, sustainable food system”
“Our thought process is that unless we do something voluntarily, then it will become legislation,” he says. “We believe it would be much more beneficial for the industry as a whole if we can find these solutions and implement them on a voluntary basis.”
Maxim says reducing Scope 1 emissions, which is at the top of the workstreams’ priorities, is essential to achieving global climate targets and aligns with Saputo’s science-based commitments.
“These emissions often represent direct operational impacts, and addressing them helps mitigate financial, regulatory, and reputational risks while reinforcing our role as a responsible corporate citizen,” he said.
For dairy processors looking to stay ahead of regulatory pressures, meet consumer expectations, and prepare for the future, Iversen says there’s clear value in getting involved in the group. He says you don’t have to solve it all yourself, but you do have to be part of the conversation.
As decarbonization strategies evolve rapidly, Maxim adds that the P2DNZ Dairy Processing Task Force offers a valuable forum for benchmarking Saputo’s approach against global peers.
“The visibility into other leading processors’ initiatives helps validate our direction and identify opportunities for continuous improvement,” he said.