The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced today the launch of the Net Zero Initiative, aiming to help US dairy farmers across all sizes and geographies to implement new technologies and adopt economically viable practices in the pursuit of achieving a series of sustainability goals. The organization also announced that it is partnering with Nestlé, including an up to $10 million commitment, to support the initiative and to and scale access to environmental practices and resources on farms across the country.

Mike Haddad, Chairman, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, said:

“The U.S. dairy community has been working together to provide the world with responsibly-produced, nutritious dairy foods. With the entire dairy community at the table – from farmers and cooperatives to processors, household brands and retailers – we’re leveraging U.S. dairy’s innovation, diversity and scale to drive continued environmental progress and create a more sustainable planet for future generations.”

Jim Wells, Chief Supply Chain Officer for Nestlé USA, said:

“Supporting and enabling farmers through the Net Zero Initiative has the potential to transform the dairy industry. Scaling up climate-smart agricultural initiatives is key to Nestlé’s ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will help reduce the carbon footprint of many of our brands. We are excited to collaborate with U.S. dairy and our suppliers to contribute to an even more sustainable dairy supply chain.”

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is a forum that convenes dairy farmers and industry stakeholders across the value chain to align on shared social responsibility priorities. The new initiative is a component of the organization’s 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals, which include becoming carbon neutral or better, optimizing water use while maximizing recycling, and improving water quality by optimizing utilization of manure and nutrients.

According to the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, many of the practices and technologies needed to reach the industry’s sustainability goals already exist, but require further research and development and overall greater accessibility across farms of all sizes and geographies. The Net Zero Initiative aims to remove these barriers, and create incentives for farmers that will lead to economic viability and positive environmental impact.

Haddad said:

“We know a lot more is possible – proven science and evidence from dairy’s existing best practices tells us we can get to net zero. This is not only good for dairy farmers, it’s also good for all businesses that serve dairy, the communities where we farm and the millions of people who enjoy dairy every day.”