This Guide is for individual dairy processor companies seeking to align their company operations with sustainability metrics and goals generally used throughout the dairy industry. Whether your company is just starting its sustainability journey, or is seeking to take operations to the next level, this Guide assembles numerous resources developed by the U.S. dairy community as part of its pre-competitive industrywide commitment to sustainability.

Food companies and other dairy buyers are encouraging, and in many cases requiring as a condition of sale, that their suppliers demonstrate a commitment to ESG (environment, social and governance) goals by setting baselines, setting credible targets, demonstrating continuous improvement and reporting sustainability progress in response to marketplace demands.

Major food companies and retailers publicly report sustainability goals and progress, and increasingly expect their suppliers to do so as part of a growing desire to understand and mitigate their environmental footprint from farm to table.

To support dairy companies, buyers and suppliers globally, the Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF) offers an overarching sustainability vision for the global dairy sector. It also includes regional/local layers, enabling a prioritization of the issues relevant to the region, while connecting them at a global level. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is the single aggregator for the DSF in the U.S.

SAI’s Sustainable Dairy Platform provides a consistent approach for reporting between buyers and processors. The U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment has formal alignment with SDP’s sustainable sourcing assurance model.

Click the logos below to view the sustainability goals of several global dairy buyers.

With the shared belief that sustainability is larger than any single organization or sector of the supply chain, U.S. dairy has established 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals that support a vision of dairy as an environmental solution. They address the areas where we can collectively have the greatest impact and demonstrate progress.

U.S. Dairy 2050 Sustainability Goals

To ensure consistency in sustainability measurement and reporting, customers, investors and others rely on globally recognized sustainability standards and protocols. Learn how U.S. Dairy aligns.

Guidance on setting goals and measuring progress for your company or operation is in “The Plan” section of this guide. To learn more, contact Jennifer Block at Stewardship.Commitment​@dairy.org.

Complete Materiality Assessment available at usdairy.com/commitment

All food production comes with an environmental footprint. The first step toward building a sustainability plan is to conduct a materiality assessment to identify, prioritize and define the sustainability topics that matter most to you and your stakeholders.

• The sustainability topics that matter most to U.S. Dairy
• How to conduct your own materiality assessment