Short product shelf life is a major sustainability problem for the dairy industry. Once purchased by consumers, a large proportion of fermented products such as yoghurt, sour cream and cottage cheese end up as household waste. The challenge many manufacturers face is how to keep products fresh for longer without resorting to unwanted food additives.

Bioprotective cultures from the Danish ingredient company Novonesis are an effective solution. Drawn from nature, the cultures protect fermented dairy products from spoilage caused by yeast and mould – even when storage and cold chain conditions are difficult.

A longer shelf life minimises waste and protects the brand’s reputation

Ten years after the initial market launch, Novonesis introduced a new generation of bioprotective cultures that offer even better stability at high distribution temperatures and a better sensory fit, so taste, texture and quality are always at their best.

Improved preservation technologies from Novonesis have helped cut yoghurt waste by more than one million tonnes over the past decade. By slowing microbial spoilage and inhibiting the growth of yeast and mould, bioprotective cultures help yoghurt stay fresh for longer. Extending shelf life means more products are consumed rather than discarded, reducing waste across the value chain and protecting both resources and brand reputation.

Novonesis has more than 100,000 microbial strains in its collection – an excellent starting point for finding the right strain for every trend, need and sustainability hurdle.

Livestock manure is a primary source of ammonia and methane emissions, leading to a poor indoor climate for pigs and cattle and pollution of the surrounding environment.

Danish farm machinery supplier Lind Jensen Maskinfabrik (LJM) develops and refines manure removal systems to minimise these emissions. As growing environmental legislation drives innovation, farmers can rely on LJM systems to help them comply with the most stringent requirements.

Significant improvements have been made. Although Danish law only requires weekly emptying of the slurry pits under the floor slats in pig barns, LJM’s mechanical scrapers make it easy to empty the pits daily. For cattle barns, LJM has designed an automated scraper system to remove manure from solid floors fast and efficiently 12 times a day.

As barns have grown in size over the years, LJM has developed scraper systems for barn floors up to 250 metres in length.

Frequent manure removal reduces methane emissions by up to 90%

In cattle barns, where manure is scraped from a solid drained floor, a recent study has found a 23% reduction in ammonia evaporation compared to barns with a slatted floor and slurry pit.

LJM has an ongoing collaboration with the agricultural research and development organisation Seges Innovation to evaluate and optimise its systems to ensure they deliver the best possible climate benefits at minimum cost.

 

 

 

Spray drying accounts for up to 70% of the energy requirements in milk powder processing. Until recently, all the heat that goes into the process was released as low-temperature waste. Now GEA has come up with a solution to utilise this heat, reducing fuel consumption and related carbon emissions.

One of the world’s largest food system suppliers, GEA has based its business unit for powder and thermal separation technologies in Denmark. Here, the specialised design team has developed the new air heating system – GEA AddCool – to recover low-temperature waste heat from exhaust air and cooling processes.

GEA AddCool uses high-temperature heat pumps to capture and upgrade the heat, which is then used to pre-warm air to 120°C before it is fed into the spray-drying process. Because it is an add-on system, retrofitting to existing spray dryers is simple. Production throughput and powder quality are unchanged.

Air heating system cuts fuel consumption and emissions by more than 50%

GEA’s patent-pending solution is the result of a five-year collaborative development project involving experts in engineering, heat pumps, spray drying and powder processing. For powder manufacturers, GEA AddCool is an energy-saving milestone that cuts heating needs, costs, and carbon footprint.

The need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources became even more pressing when the war in Ukraine put Europe’s natural gas supplies at risk. At Royal Unibrew, the volatile situation was a fresh reminder that the transition to carbon-neutral production was the right policy for the planet and business.

As a leading multi-beverage company with 19 production sites in nine markets, Royal Unibrew has focused on reducing its climate impact for many years. From 2015 to 2021, for example, energy efficiency improvements cut CO₂ emissions per hectolitre by 28% while production volumes grew 32%. In 2023, the group achieved three important milestones.

At the largest production site in Faxe, Denmark, construction of a solar park was complete.

New solar park covers 40% of plant energy need

A second project at the Faxe site, involved the installation of a heat pump to utilise surplus heat from process cooling systems. The outcome is a 30% reduction in heat consumption.

Thirdly, a bioreactor established at Royal Unibrew’s second largest site in Lahti, Finland, has enabled the conversion from fossil-based to bio-based fuel for heating. The bioreactor runs on production by-products, supported by locally produced biogas.

Additional energy efficiency and renewable energy projects are planned at all other Royal Unibrew sites. The group goal is to become 100 percent carbon-neutral by 2025.

Global demand for protein is expected to double by 2050 due to population growth and rising incomes. Within the food industry, pioneering research is developing new low-carbon protein sources to meet this need without burdening the planet.

For Danish biosolutions company Novonesis, precision fermentation was the obvious starting point for innovation. Used for decades to produce functional enzymes for food and beverages, the technology is now at the heart of the company’s advanced protein solutions.

The outcome is new protein ingredients of similar nutritional quality to the proteins in meat and milk. But, because they are produced by microorganisms in a tank of sugar and water, carbon emissions may decrease immensely. Water consumption and land use could also be reduced by 90 percent.

Carbon emissions from new protein ingredients may be up to 90% lower

At the same time, the strictly controlled process promises to deliver a reliable protein supply, independent of climate change, harvest variations or zoonotic epidemics.

Novonesis has extensive fermentation knowledge to draw on when encoding microorganisms, such as yeast or filamentous fungi, for protein production. The goal is to develop specialised proteins with an optimised amino acid composition or improved taste – meeting the dietary needs of distinct consumer groups or optimising the protein content of a food or beverage brand.

Breeding cows that produce less methane is a promising scenario in the effort to reduce the climate impact of milk production. Since scientists discovered that some cows are genetically inclined to convert more feed into milk and less into methane, this possibility is coming closer to reality.

The Danish cattle breeding company VikingGenetics, owned by Nordic dairy and beef farmers, is playing a lead role in that development by enabling farmers to breed the healthy and efficient cows of the future.

The patented Cattle Feed Intake System (CFIT) is one of the company’s key tools. A smart solution based on 3D cameras and artificial intelligence, CFIT is designed to monitor the feed intake and weight of each cow in commercial herds throughout the lactation period.

VikingGenetics registers the data in the Nordic Saved Feed Index, which describes the genetic ability of each cow to turn feed into milk. The amount of methane produced, varying from two to 12 percent of the feed’s energy content, is closely linked to feed-to- milk efficiency.

Farmers can then use this overview of genetic potential to select the breeding bulls that will pass high feed efficiency and other desirable traits onto the next generation.

By 2025, further planned installations will bring the number of cows up to 30,000

Today, CFIT monitors 12,500 cows across 25 commercial farms. By 2025, further planned installations will bring the number of cows up to 30,000. The collection of data from a larger number of herds in different production systems will speed up the breeding of highly productive, feed-efficient and low-emission cows that also stand out for their good health.

According to a new study based on CFIT data, genetic selection for improved feed efficiency could reduce GHG emissions from dairy cattle in VikingGenetics’ home markets by 20 percent in 2050. In a country like India, for example, the improvement potential is even higher. Here a dairy farmer may reduce methane emissions by 33 percent per litre of milk using Nordic genetics.

Ambitious climate strategies are a must in the global dairy industry. At Arla Foods, the farmer owners are taking proactive steps to reduce GHG emissions. A broad focus on sustainability actions has cut emissions from their milk production by thriteen percent a kilo since 2015.

A data-driven toolbox for facilitating sustainability transitions on farm, FarmAhead™ Technology, is helping to accelerate progress towards the goal of a 30 percent reduction in GHG emissions in scope 3 by 2030, with 2015 as the baseline. For the farmers, it brings an opportunity to earn up to 2.4 eurocents more per kilo of milk, rising to 3 eurocents when the scheme is fully implemented.

Reducing farm emissions requires knowledge. The FarmAhead™ Check is a tool that collects data to understand farm emissions better, covering 99% of Arla’s milk pool. The farmer owners provide over 200 data points by answering questions, which are then verified by a third-party advisor and stored in a comprehensive dataset.

This offers valuable insights into dairy farming practices across seven Northern European countries, supporting the Arla farmer owners in their sustainability efforts and sharing learnings with industry stakeholders, policymakers and researchers. Submitting the FarmAhead™ Check is rewarded with an additional 1 EUR-cent/kg of milk.

Analysis of this huge dataset has revealed the ‘Big Five’, which are the primary levers of the FarmAhead™ Incentive’s point-based system. These are the main drivers of the differences between low and high-performing farms and represent the greatest opportunities to cut GHG emissions while increasing efficiency and profitability.

A broad focus on efficiency in their milk production has cut ghg emissions by 13% in scope 3 since 2015

For each action in these areas, farmers can score points that translate into an additional payment. The bigger the improvement potential for climate and nature, the more points can be collected. Categories include feed, fertiliser and protein efficiency, land use, animal robustness, manure handling, biodiversity, carbon farming, sustainable feed and renewable electricity

Although the FarmAhead™ Incentive is a voluntary scheme, most Arla farmers – representing 99 percent of the farmer-owned milk pool – have registered their data in the FarmAhead™ Check, which is a precondition for participation.

Commercial fertilisers derived from natural gas are a major source of the carbon emissions from plant production – but perhaps not for much longer. Four farmer-owned Danish cooperatives have joined forces to develop a greener fertiliser based on wind power.

DLG, Danish Agro, Arla and Danish Crown have founded a new company – Green Fertilizer Denmark – to drive this game-changing initiative.

the investment could reduce Danish CO₂ emissions by 750,000 tons a year – equivalent to the emissions from an estimated 250,000 diesel cars

The ambition is to replace conventional fossil-based fertiliser with fertiliser based on green ammonia, which is produced by electrolysis of surplus wind power from the North Sea. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is driving the development of the wind farm and production facilities that will deliver the green ammonia.

A feasibility study is currently underway for a green fertiliser plant with sufficient capacity to meet the needs of farmers in Denmark and commence sales to local export markets.

Fertiliser is an absolute necessity to meet the global population’s growing need for food. Green Fertilizer Denmark represents a new opportunity to satisfy that need sustainably.

Malted barley may be the backbone of many a good beer, but it is also responsible for a large share of the carbon emissions from international brands. At Carlsberg Group, an estimated 27 % of overall value chain emissions come directly from agricultural products.

Through partnerships with suppliers and experts, farmer collaborations and research into new barley varieties, the Danish brewery group is taking action to turn the situation around.

Partner farmers that deliver barley to Carlsberg companies in Denmark, Finland, France and the UK have kicked off by adopting new barley cultivation practices that prioritise soil health, supporting natural carbon capture, promoting biodiversity and regenerating the farmland.

In France, for example, 20% of the malt used to brew Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde beer is being sourced from farms using sustainable practices, with full traceability enabled by a new blockchain solution.

Scientists at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory are strengthening these efforts by using selective breeding to develop new barley types that reduce the energy and synthetic input requirements – and related carbon emissions – of the malting and brewing processes.

Early trials with a novel malting barley have demonstrated an up to 25% reduction in energy use during wort boiling. Carlsberg is today rolling out the variety to markets in Europe and aims to make it available to other brewing companies.

Novel malting barley uses 25% less energy during wort boiling  

As part of a broader commitment to supporting the development of regenerative agriculture around the world, Carlsberg became a member of the cross-industry Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform in 2022.

If all goes to plan, 30% of Carlsberg’s global agricultural raw materials will be sustainably sourced and grown using regenerative practices by 2030, increasing to 100% in 2040.

Liquid manure disposal is an expensive necessity in livestock production and a significant contributor to GHG emissions, particularly when traditional spreaders spray slurry onto fields. In Denmark, an innovative machinery supplier has developed solutions that cut the costs for farmers and the climate.

Agrometer has developed an approach that takes slurry tankers off the road and directly pumps the slurry into a nurse tank next to the fields, ready for easy connection to a slurry spreader. By eliminating the need for transport and distribution, emissions associated with energy consumption are reduced by around 60 percent.

 

emissions associated with energy consumption are reduced by around 60 percent

In the field, Agrometer helps farmers maximise the value of liquid manure while minimising the climate impact. Their self-propelled, lightweight spreaders are equipped with GPS technology, so slurry can be distributed accorded to the precise nutrient requirements of the soil. By giving farmers a clear understanding of nitrogen usage efficiency, the technology may reduce or even eliminate the need for artificial fertilisers.

The estimated carbon emission savings from optimised slurry handling and reduced fertiliser usage are 85 percent and 75 percent respectively. As new CO₂ duties are introduced in Denmark and around the world, slurry-handling solutions from Agrometer are gaining ground as a cost-efficient choice.