As world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil for COP 30, agriculture and food-system decarbonization are firmly in focus. For the dairy industry, these discussions often centre on farm-level practices and processing efficiency, yet one of the most immediate opportunities to cut emissions lies on the road — in how milk is transported from farms to plants every single day.
Globally, billions of litres of raw milk are collected and delivered to processing facilities. Almost every litre travels by truck, often through intricate, fragmented collection networks that have evolved over decades. It’s a logistical feat that ensures supply reliability but also represents a significant and largely hidden source of greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Overlooked Carbon Cost of Milk Transport
Milk logistics can account for as much as 15% of total emissions across the dairy supply chain. These are typically Scope 3 emissions — difficult to measure, easy to underestimate, and seldom optimised. With more than 900 billion litres of milk produced globally each year, this equates to millions of tanker movements and substantial diesel consumption. A modest 10% improvement in transport efficiency could prevent around 5 million tonnes of CO₂e annually — roughly the same as removing one million cars from the road.
Smarter Planning, Smaller Footprint
At OptaHaul, we’re helping the dairy sector address this challenge by treating milk transport as a connected, data-driven network rather than a series of isolated milk pools. Our purpose built optimization solutions bring together information on milk supply, plant demand, truck capacity, time windows, and route constraints to automatically identify the most efficient way to move milk from farm to plant.
The results are immediate and measurable: fewer kilometres travelled, fuller tankers, and lower fuel consumption. In recent projects across Europe and North America, customers have achieved 10–25% improvements in route efficiency — cutting both operational costs and emissions without changing fleets, fuels, or infrastructure.
Collaboration Drives Decarbonization
Reducing the carbon footprint of dairy transport is not about replacing every truck with an electric one (we can help there too); it’s about connecting the people and systems already in place and enabling them to make better, data-driven decisions together. When collection and delivery schedules are planned collaboratively, duplication is eliminated. When visibility improves, under-filled or inefficient routes can be identified and resolved. And when planners have the right digital tools, every litre of milk can travel fewer kilometres to reach its destination.
Turning Efficiency into Climate Action
Operational efficiency is often viewed simply as a cost-saving measure, but in this case, it represents one of the most practical forms of climate action available to the dairy industry today. OptaHaul’s platform allows customers to track performance over time, benchmark transport efficiency, and calculate emissions intensity — such as kilograms of CO₂e per litre or per hundredweight moved. These insights transform sustainability commitments into measurable, verifiable results.
A Practical Step Toward Net-Zero Dairy
As COP 30 underscores the urgency of decarbonizing agriculture, dairy transport stands out as an area where climate progress and operational improvement go hand in hand. Smarter logistics make supply chains leaner, more resilient, and more sustainable — creating a tangible pathway toward a low-carbon dairy future that is already within reach.
