The data collection was carried out on a representative sample of the entire production chain of Grana Padano PDO, consisting of 68 farms, 19 dairies and 18 packagers. The work, which lasted more than two years, made it possible to assess the environmental performance of the entire Grana Padano PDO production chain, from the farms to the packaging facilities, and the consequent creation of average and combined datasets. In fact, the following datasets were obtained from the important data collection and processing:

– 3 datasets for the milk production phase at the farm
– 3 datasets for the production phase
– 1 dataset for the packaging phase
– 1 combined dataset of the whole supply chain

The elaborated datasets are compliant with the PEF methodology of the European Commission and have obtained the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) certification, thus laying the basis for a future sharing of the combined data of the Grana Padano PDO supply chain with the international scientific community.

Thanks to the results obtained from the LIFE TTGG Project, it was also possible to publish the Rules by Product Category for Grana Padano PDO within the Made Green in Italy, the national certification on the product’s environmental footprint, with which the Grana Padano Consortium’s companies will be able to assess and promote the sustainability of their production, raising awareness among the entire supply chain and final consumers.

In order to calculate the environmental impact of PDO cheese production and any environmental hot spots, we are developing a software, the Environmental Decision Support Tool (called in Italian, Strumento di Supporto per le Decisioni Ambientali or SSDA), which translates the PEF guidelines into a system for calculating and improving the entire production chain.

The LIFE TTGG project, recognised as “the 2021 LIFE project of the month for June” by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, represents the starting point for the sustainable transition of the national dairy sector, with the Grana Padano PDO Consortium playing a leading role.

The LIFE TTGG project has made it possible to calculate the environmental footprint of Grana Padano PDO by considering all the stages of the supply chain: from the breeding of the cows for milk production, through processing and maturing to packaging and distribution of the product at points of sale.
The Catholic University of Piacenza (Università Cattolica), partner in the LIFE TTGG project, assessed the milk production phase at the farm.

The application of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method showed that the farm phase, where raw milk is produced, is the origin of almost all environmental impacts (about 91% of the whole production chain).

The LIFE TTGG project achieved a second important result, highlighting which data/activities have the greatest environmental impact in the stable system. The percentages are as follows:

– Forage purchase (34%)
– produzione di alimenti (25%),
– Forage production (25%)
– Emissions from manure management, enteric fermentation and cowshed management (16%, 12% and 6% respectively)
– energy use (5%)
– purchase of bedding material (1%)
– water use in animal husbandry (1%).

Through this study, the identification of some areas of intervention and mitigation actions were identified which could be adopted by farmers in order to improve the environmental performance of their production system.

Specifically, the areas of intervention concern:

– Management and distribution of livestock effluents, an improvement in effluent storage techniques, valorising effluents through anaerobic digestion, and through a better agronomic use of effluents, also generating an increase in crop yields.
– The adoption of management choices aimed at optimising the composition of the herd, also guaranteeing greater animal welfare.
– Increasing the quality of self-produced forage and paying greater attention to the management and choice of the geographical origin of purchased feed.
– The adoption of a heat recovery system from milk cooling.

Among the mitigation measures identified, the use of livestock manure in anaerobic digesters and the optimisation of manure management and distribution to the field were found to be the most effective in terms of reducing the overall environmental footprint.

The LIFE TTGG project has shown that the environmental impact related to the processing of milk in the dairy is very low, in fact it is estimated that about 3.5% of the impact of packaged Grana Padano PDO is due to the dairy phase, which includes the processing of the milk and the maturing of the cheese.

Enersem, Spin-off of the Politecnico di Milano, partner of the LIFE TTGG project, has shown that dairies that have undertaken heat recovery strategies are more efficient.

Here are two examples of these strategies:

– Recovery of heat from the whey – at around 50°C – which can be recovered to supply some of the dairy’s utilities, instead of using steam or hot water.
– Recovery of condensation heat from the refrigeration units that would otherwise be dissipated to supply the hot batteries of the air treatment units serving the maturing warehouses.

We waste more than 20% of the food we produce. Where? more than half of the waste is generated by the consumer, followed by processing, food services, primary productions, and sales.

Food waste is a (serious) ethical problem with economic and environmental consequences. It is not compatible with the ambitious European Green Deal. Even the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its goal 12 “responsible consumption and production” indicates the need, by 2030, to halve global per capita waste and reduce food losses along the production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

FAO estimates that food waste alone accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is also particularly relevant for the dairy supply chain.

To combat food waste, the Life TTGG project has identified and is promoting a series of actions:

– Develop packaging that further prevents food waste;
– Raise consumer awareness by sharing good prevention practices (e.g., proper storage);
– Support the correct interpretation of the expiry date and in particular the difference between “expiry date” and “best before date”;
– Improving the destination of surplus food (e.g., encouraging donations to food banks and charities).