Four years after its launch, the KlimaStaR Milk resource project is reporting significant progress in reducing the environmental impact of milk production, with participating farms surpassing key targets and laying the groundwork for sector-wide implementation. The cross-industry initiative, led by Emmi, Nestlé, aaremilch, ZMP and AgroCleanTech with support from the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and competition for feed-food and land by 20% each by 2027. At the end of 2025, 219 dairy farms producing around 73 million kilograms of milk annually were involved.
The project’s fourth-year results show that farms have reduced feed-food competition by approximately 23% since the start, already exceeding the original 20% target. This means less animal feed is in direct competition with human nutrition, as farms increasingly rely on by-products from food production and reduce concentrate feed. Competition for land also fell by 15% compared to the baseline, allowing farms to produce more milk and animal protein on the same or only slightly larger area. Progress was particularly notable in valley zone farms. Greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of milk declined by around 8% on a relative basis, with farms reducing emissions by 66 grams of CO2 equivalents per kilogram of milk in 2025. Although absolute emissions rose slightly due to higher overall milk production, they remained lower than they would have been without the measures. Extrapolated across the 73 million kilograms produced, this equates to a reduction of nearly 5,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
These achievements are significant because they demonstrate that climate protection and resource efficiency in dairy farming can be advanced without compromising production. However, further reductions are challenging due to high investment costs, long planning horizons, and Switzerland’s already low baseline emissions compared to international averages. To address this, farms will receive individual guidance and tailored advice over the remaining two years of the project. Successful farms are sharing their experiences with other participants to accelerate progress. The positive results have encouraged the industry to expand its commitment beyond the project. Based on the findings, the industry organisation Milch (BOM) developed a climate calculator available to all Swiss milk producers since July 2026. This tool allows farms to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and feed-food competition, and to identify optimisation measures. By applying the project’s methods nationally, the dairy sector is contributing to the Federal Council’s objectives for Swiss agriculture up to 2050, which include more climate-friendly production and increased use of grass and by-products. For those seeking more details, a Media release as PDF is available, along with the KlimaStaR Milk website (in German) and Various KlimaStaR Milk documents: images, video testimonials and animated infographics. The project’s success underscores the potential for collaborative, science-based approaches to drive meaningful environmental improvements in agriculture, with implications for policy and industry practices well beyond Switzerland’s borders.
