KlimaStaR Milk initiative delivers positive results
Lucerne - The KlimaStaR Milk initiative has made promising progress. Launched in 2022 by Emmi, ZMP, Nestlé, aaremilch, and AgroCleanTech, the project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and competition for feed-food and land by 20 per cent in both cases by 2027. The target has already been partially exceeded.
The KlimaStaR Milch initiative was launched in 2022 by Emmi and the Central Swiss Milk Producers Cooperative (ZMP), both based in Lucerne, along with Nestlé from Vevey in the canton of Vaud, aaremilch from Lyss in the canton of Bern, and AgroCleanTech from Lindau in the canton of Zurich. It received support from the Federal Office for Agriculture. Based in Central Switzerland, the project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and competition for feed-food and land by 20 per cent in each case by 2027.
According to a statement from Emmi, the feed-food target has already been exceeded by 23 per cent since the start of the project. In the area of land competition, a 15 per cent reduction was posted in the fourth year, while greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8 per cent. By the end of 2025, a total of 219 dairy farms with an annual production of 73 million kilograms of milk were participating.
The relatively modest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed, in part, to lower-than-expected baseline figures, which were already significantly below the international average, leaving less scope for further reductions. Moreover, achieving additional reductions presents challenges for farms, as it requires substantial investment and long-term planning, according to the statement. Nevertheless, when measured per unit of milk produced, the new production method reduced CO2 emissions by approximately 5,000 metric tons compared with the previous method.
The progress achieved to date provides a foundation for expanding the project nationwide, writes Emmi. Through this expansion, the dairy industry aims to make a tangible contribution to achieving the Swiss agricultural targets for 2050 adopted by the Swiss government, the Federal Council.
