Focus
Sustainability & Technical
More value from the make.
About this pillar
Updated 22 September 2026
How dairy is made, and made better: the technical and sustainability agenda that protects both margin and licence to operate. We cover processing and fermentation, membrane and whey technology, emissions and net zero, packaging, and the make-side innovation that turns cost into advantage.
What this pillar covers
- Fermentation & cultures
- Whey & membrane tech
- Emissions & net zero
- Packaging
- Process efficiency
- Food safety & standards
Featured & latest
8 pieces in Sustainability & Technical
The invoice arrives this autumn. Nobody can tell you what it says.
The most expensive packaging decision available to a mid-sized processor this year is not a material decision at all: packaging with missing recyclability data is rated red, so 100 tonnes rated red by default rather than by design costs £13,000 more than the same tonnage rated green — larger than the gap between a realistic pack mix and a perfect one.
22 September 2026
The three numbers in your packaging budget are last year's
Year-two EPR resets the rate and starts charging on recyclability, so the number worth working out this month is not tonnage times rate but the red, amber and green split — and how much of the red is red only because an assessment was never submitted.
21 September 2026
The Invisible Factory: the value leaving dairy through its drains
The largest untapped margin on most dairy sites is not a new product but the value already leaving as effluent, heat and yield loss; the first commercial act is to measure it.
20 August 2026
Can a dairy become its own energy company?
Energy from waste is moving from a compliance cost to a resilience asset; the dairies that run digestion as a business line, not a bolt-on, hedge energy price and carbon at the same time.
19 August 2026
Acid whey is not the problem. The business model is.
Acid whey is a business-model failure, not a technical one; the value is real but stranded until processors design for a saleable co-product rather than a disposal problem.
18 August 2026
Part 2 | the sustainability reckoning
Irish dairy's climate reckoning is painful, but verified low-carbon production could turn sustainability into a defensible premium export advantage.
6 January 2026
Ensuring cheese quality through advanced weighing and inspection systems
Investing in traceable weighing and inspection technology guards producers against costly recalls and reputational damage while improving margins.
1 May 2025
Sustainability: the driving force behind the dairy and cheese industry's transformation in 2025
Producers that embed and clearly communicate sustainable practices will win consumer trust and secure long-term commercial advantage.
29 January 2025
Get Sustainability & Technical in your inbox.
Independent analysis across our five pillars, with the bottom line on every piece. No spam, unsubscribe any time.