The Dairy Product Environmental Footprint (Dairy PEF) has been driven by the European Dairy Association (EDA) as a major project to better identify the most relevant environmental impacts of different dairy products in examining a broad array of environmental criteria. It covers the full life cycle (cradle to grave) for dairy products.
Reasons for the PEF exercise and key learning The aim of the Dairy PEF has been to develop a methodology from within the sector for assessing the environmental impacts of products, realising a simple and workable tool for all actors involved and all external bodies interested. It represents a cooperative effort of all stakeholders along the whole chain, building on the sector’s several years’ experience of environmental improvement. It is launched towards a European and global dimension. The Dairy PEF aims to provide a harmonised approach for measuring environmental performances of products and should be used as an improvement tool for the performance of the overall sector. It also shows the positive outcomes resulting from the collaboration of the different stakeholders along the chain.