DSF hosts 12th Annual Meeting, spotlighting behaviour change in global dairy sustainability

The 12th DSF Annual Meeting was held virtually last month, drawing just under 100 members and dairy sector partners from 18 countries for a fast-paced three-hour session centred on accelerating behaviour change across the industry. The event was hosted by DSF Governor, Lori Captain, Executive Vice President – Sustainability, Science & Industry Relations at Dairy Management Inc. USA.

The meeting opened with an update on key DSF initiatives for 2025, including the launch of the new five-year Strategic Plan, the release of the latest DSF Annual Sustainability Progress Report, and the introduction of DSF Materiality Assessment Training resources. Members also shared outcomes and progress from the Animal Care and GHG Emissions Communities of Interest.

The second hour focused on member-led, on the ground initiatives. Four organisations showcased targeted behaviour-change programmes from around the world:
• Arla Foods (Europe): Linking farmers and customers to cut GHG emissions through FarmAhead™
• Danone (Morocco): Hlib Bladi resilience and sustainability model for smallholder farmers
• DairyNZ (New Zealand): Supporting practice change in intensive winter grazing
• The Dairy Roadmap (UK): Collaborative approaches to improving carbon footprint tools

Two-page summaries of each initiative have been shared with attendees and are available on the DSF website Members Area.

The meeting concluded with an interactive discussion with DSF members on behaviour change, featuring renowned, behavioural economist, Professor Dan Ariely of Duke University, DSF Advisory Council member, Geeta Sethi of the World Bank, and DSF Chairman Donald Moore.

If you were not able to join us on the day, recordings of the full session are available in English, Spanish and Japanese in the Members area of the DSF website.