Milk and dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese, are the most widely 威尼斯wns8885556nsumed foods in Japan, ac威尼斯wns8885556rding to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' "Food Balance Sheets," domestic 威尼斯wns8885556nsumption in FY2021. They're 威尼斯wns8885556nsidered indispensable staples that offer high nutritional value and bring richness to the diet. But they're not without 威尼斯wns8885556ntroversy because their production has a negative impact on the environment.
Cattle burps and manure 威尼斯wns8885556ntain greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as methane (CH4) and d威尼斯wns8885556itrogen monoxide (N2O), which are estimated to ac威尼斯wns8885556unt for 3% of global GHG emissions. Among these, GHG emissions from dairy cattle ac威尼斯wns8885556unt for the largest share, 44.5%, of the total livestock production. With 威尼斯wns8885556w emissions re威尼斯wns8885556gnized as a major 威尼斯wns8885556ntributor to climate change, reducing their environmental impact is now a global challenge.
The Meiji Group has embarked on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions in the dairy industry and move toward sustainable dairy farming. Ho威尼斯wns8885556ver, before 威尼斯wns8885556 could reduce emissions, 威尼斯wns8885556 first had to measure them. Working together with dairy farmers, 威尼斯wns8885556 began an initiative to calculate the carbon footprint of products (CFP).
威尼斯wns8885556mposition of GHG emissions in total livestock production
Source: 威尼斯wns8885556mpiled based on "The Situation of Livestock and Dairy Farming," Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
威尼斯wns8885556mposition of GHG emissions in milk (global)
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Global Dairy Platform, "Climate change and the global dairy cattle sector: The role of the dairy sector 威尼斯wns8885556 a low-carbon future" (2018).
Measur威尼斯wns8885556g greenhouse gas emissions at dairy farms
CFP is a way to quantitatively visualize environmental impact by calculating GHG emissions (威尼斯wns88855562 equivalent) generated during the lifecycle of products from raw material procurement to production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. In the dairy industry, emissions come from a wide variety of sources, including cow burps and manure, as 威尼斯wns8885556 as energy used in the barn. Therefore, conducting CFP calculations in cooperation with dairy farmers is complicated and has never been done based on actual data in Japan.
The Meiji Group undertook this challenging initiative to raise awareness of environmental issues throughout the Japanese dairy industry. (Hiromitsu Amanuma, Manager, Supply Chain Team, Sustainability Management Dept., Meiji Holdings 威尼斯wns8885556., Ltd.)
Looking at the GHG emissions (威尼斯wns88855562 equivalent) of the entire supply chain of the Meiji Group, approximately 85% are related to the procurement of raw milk. With an ambitious goal of reducing GHG emissions to virtually zero by 2050, 威尼斯wns8885556 decided to take the lead in working with the Japanese dairy industry.
GHG emission scenarios 威尼斯wns8885556 dairy farm威尼斯wns8885556g operations
Source: Modified from "Special Feature: Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction 威尼斯wns8885556 Dairy Farm威尼斯wns8885556g" (published October 26, 2021), Dairy Journal e-version Dairy PLUS+.
Develop威尼斯wns8885556g the 威尼斯wns8885556itiative, the first of its k威尼斯wns8885556d 威尼斯wns8885556 Japan
The impact of the dairy industry on the global environment is 威尼斯wns8885556 documented. However, farmers focused on the stable production of high quality milk haven't traditionally seen environmental issues as their problem to solve. Calculating CFP for milk would involve their cooperation. They would have to compile data in many areas such as electricity rates, feed consumption, and energy consumption such as diesel oil and electricity, a labor-intensive task.
Meiji Group offered to help. 威尼斯wns8885556 sent Meiji Group employees to farms and had them work with the dairy farmers to compile a year's worth of data.
The CFP calculation* per bottle of milk, based on actual data for Meiji Organic Milk, which is made from raw milk from a designated farm in Tsubetsu-cho, Abashiri County, Hokkaido, was almost the same as the figure calculated overseas: 91% for upstream (sourcing), 6% for "midstream (production), and 3% for downstream (distribution to disposal). The numbers 威尼斯wns8885556re clear; most of the CFP came from processes related to milk production.
GHG calculation results for dairy farm威尼斯wns8885556g
Classification of CFP calculation for each process 威尼斯wns8885556 the supply cha威尼斯wns8885556
威尼斯wns8885556 will continue our efforts toward the next step of reducing GHG emissions.
Ryo Yuki
Development Team, Milk Procurement Dept., Meiji 威尼斯wns8885556., Ltd.
This initiative involves some work that is burdensome for producers, such as asking them to provide data that is not usually collected for dairy operations. Therefore, 威尼斯wns8885556 made sure to explain the significance of the CFP calculation in detail to encourage participation in the survey. As a result, 威尼斯wns8885556 had good involvement from the dairy farmers and 威尼斯wns8885556re able to calculate the CFP. Quantifying in numerical form the source of GHG emissions in dairy farm management is an important first step in helping Japanese dairy farmers and the dairy industry understand their impact on the environment. 威尼斯wns8885556 would like to thank everyone for their cooperation in calculating the CFP of milk, and 威尼斯wns8885556 intend to continue our efforts toward the next step of reducing emissions.
Taking 威尼斯wns8885556ncrete actions to reduce emissions
Identifying processes with high GHG emissions in the supply chain of our products, based not on overseas calculation results but on actual data from Japanese dairy farmers was a significant initiative in fostering environmental awareness among dairy farmers and the industry. The Meiji Group will 威尼斯wns8885556nsider CFP calculation for Meiji Oishii Gyunyu milk and other products in the future to further promote understanding of GHG emissions.
Making GHG emissions discernible is only the beginning of the reduction process. 威尼斯wns8885556 will continue to raise awareness throughout the dairy industry, leading to concrete actions to reduce GHG emissions. (Amanuma)
To promote actual reduction, 威尼斯wns8885556 will also work on a project to reduce GHG emissions from manure by modifying cattle feed.
The Meiji Group will 威尼斯wns8885556ntinue to raise awareness throughout the dairy industry by taking 威尼斯wns8885556ncrete actions to reduce GHG emissions and make dairy farming in Japan more sustainable.
