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DairyPost Africa • May 2014
The DSF Criteria and
Strategic Intents
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: GHG
emissions across the full value chain
are quantified and reduced through all
economically viable mechanisms.
• Soil Nutrients: Nutrient application is
managed to minimize impacts on water
and air, while maintaining and enhancing
soil quality.
• Waste: Waste generation is minimized and,
where unavoidable, waste is reused and
recycled.
• Water: Water availability, as well as water
quality, is managed responsibly throughout
the dairy value chain.
• Soil: Soil quality and retention is proactively
managed and enhanced to ensure optimal
productivity.
• Biodiversity: Direct and indirect
biodiversity risks and opportunities are
understood, and strategies to maintain or
enhance it are established.
• Market Development: Participants along
the dairy value chain are able to build
economically viable businesses through the
development of transparent and effective
markets.
• Rural Economies: The dairy sector
contributes to the resilience and economic
viability of farmers and rural communities.
• Working Conditions: Across the dairy
value chain, workers operate in a safe
environment, and their rights are respected
and promoted.
• Product Safety & Quality: The integrity
and transparency of the dairy supply chain
is safeguarded, so as to ensure the optimal
nutrition, quality, and safety of products.
• Animal Care: Dairy animals are treated
with care, and are free from hunger and
thirst, discomfort, pain, injury and disease,
fear and distress, and are able to engage
in relatively normal patterns of animal
behavior.
Those that join will be required to provide
a little more detail than for the Green
Paper. This is to ensure we can develop the
required reporting of global actions and
their progress that will clearly demonstrate
that the global dairy industry is taking
a proactive approach to continuously
improving its sustainability performance.
The DSF aims to be the ‘umbrella’ to Align,
Map and Connect global dairy sustainability
activity, and importantly progress and
accelerate new and existing activity. Though
the DSF highlights the 11 key sustainability
criteria identified through the study, it does
not dictate how these are to be addressed
at a local or regional level. It does ask that
members prioritize the criteria in relation
to their unique regional circumstances and
build programmes and initiatives accordingly.
So wherever you are on your sustainability
journey, and especially if you are planning
to boost production, join the DSF and share
your sustainability activities, be they at farm,
processing or even retail level. This is an
initiative that covers the whole supply chain.
Importantly, as a member of the Framework,
you will also connect with other progressive
organisations from around the world and
benefit from their sustainability experiences.
What worked for them may just work for
you in your local situation!
We look forward to engaging with you all
at the 10th African Dairy Conference and
Exhibition where we hope to bring the DSF
to life in collaboration with our ESADA
colleagues!
www.Dairysustainabilityframework.org