Tesco has joined forces with its milk suppliers Arla and Müller to launch a farmer-led partnership which aims to promote sustainable practices.

The Future Dairy Partnership will see Tesco and the dairy suppliers pledging to bring together organisations from across the dairy industry to reduce on-farm emissions by 30% by 2030.

All 400 of the supermarket’s Sustainable Dairy Group (TSDG) farmers across the UK will be part of the initiative, with plans of broadening the partnership by reaching out to other organisations across the dairy industry for input and support.

Building on the foundation of the TSDG – the established Arla and Muller milk pool which supplies the grocer – the partnership will see the two milk processors working together to innovate, share learnings and collaborate to go faster in reducing emissions.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

The partnership will drive progress across several key areas, including innovation across on-farm projects, such as the trial and roll-out of methane-reducing feed additives, as well as exploring new levers through a dedicated farmer focus group, as well as through industry reports, and a sustainable dairy blueprint, which will provide farmers with clear guidelines on sustainability targets and ethical practices. 

Tesco chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad said: “We’ve been playing a leading role in transitioning to a low carbon agriculture sector for some time, through the close long-term partnerships we have with our Tesco Sustainable Dairy Group farmers.

“The group has pioneered groundbreaking work on a number of areas, including animal welfare improvements, carbon foot-printing and introducing innovations such as methane reducing additives.

“What’s clear is that to achieve our stretching climate and nature goals, we must work together as an industry to implement transformational improvements at pace, so we’re delighted to be partnering with Arla and Muller on this project. It’s critical we continue to ensure farmers play a pivotal role in this work, and we look forward to working with them as the work of the partnership is established.”