Carbon Footprint Assessment of Dairy Milk and Grana Padano PDO Cheese and Improvement Scenarios: A Case Study in the Po Valley (Italy)

Summary

This life cycle assessment examined the carbon footprint of Grana Padano PDO cheese production across 19 farms in the Po Valley, identifying milk production as the dominant contributor (94% of total), with enteric methane (34%), feed production (36%), and manure management (24%) as key drivers. The study demonstrates that increases in milk yield and feed efficiency reduce carbon footprint per unit of cheese, whilst identifying a trade-off between optimising productivity and maintaining the milk composition quality (protein and casein) required for PDO cheese specifications. The findings underscore the need for farm-specific mitigation strategies that account for protected designation of origin regulatory constraints.

UK applicability

These findings are broadly applicable to UK dairy farming, as enteric methane, feed sourcing, and manure management are similarly significant emission sources in UK systems. However, the UK typically operates under less stringent product specification constraints than PDO regulations, potentially allowing greater flexibility in composition-focused mitigation strategies; UK farms should evaluate whether yield-focussed improvements achieve equivalent sustainability gains within their own market contexts.

Key measures

Carbon footprint (kg CO2eq/kg FPCM for milk; kg CO2eq/kg for cheese); enteric methane emissions; feed production emissions; manure management emissions; milk yield; feed efficiency; milk composition (protein, casein, fat content); cheese yield

Outcomes reported

The study used life cycle assessment to quantify carbon footprint across 19 dairy farms supplying milk to a Grana Padano PDO cheese factory, identifying enteric methane, feed production, and manure management as primary contributors. It assessed how milk yield, feed efficiency, and milk composition (protein and casein content) influence both cheese production sustainability and product quality.

Topic tags