In a food system where nutrition and sustainability are often treated as separate goals, US dairy has long seen them as interdependent.
The same principles that sustain healthy people also sustain a healthy planet – balance, resilience and efficiency. The latest U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report brings that connection to life, showing how science, data and shared purpose are advancing nutritional, environmental and social progress across the value chain.
Nourishment as the foundation of sustainability
For dairy, sustainability begins with nourishment and a commitment to providing safe, affordable and nutrient-rich foods that help strengthen communities. Milk provides 13 essential nutrients that help build strength and vitality, a foundation for an industry whose role in wellness reaches far beyond what’s on the plate.
Through long-standing partnerships with organizations like Feeding America, the dairy community delivered 1.5bn servings of milk and dairy foods to families in need in 2024, a tangible example that improving nutrition access and supporting resilient communities are core pillars of sustainability.
At the same time, and building on decades of scientific research on dairy’s health benefits, emerging science continues to expand understanding of dairy’s benefits for cognition, bone and muscle health and overall wellbeing.
“Sustainability begins with nourishment, because feeding people well is the foundation of every food system,” says Karen Scanlon, Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility Strategy and Affairs at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.
Where sustainability becomes impact
Farmers and processors across the US dairy community have always cared for the land, animals and resources they rely on. What’s different today is how that care is being measured, managed and scaled for continuous improvement across the value chain.
Since 2007, US dairy has achieved a 14.7% reduction in on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity while producing more milk than ever before. Between 2020 and 2025, GHG intensity across the industry from cradle to processing gate fell 2.5%.
Companies reporting under the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment – the industry’s framework for advancing and demonstrating transparent, standards-based progress across priority areas – improved water efficiency by 20% and achieved a 94% waste diversion rate. And the industry continues to advance its 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals of achieving GHG neutrality, optimizing water use and improving water quality.
Each result reflects what happens when sustainability becomes part of everyday decision-making, when the same discipline that drives production efficiency also drives environmental progress with economic viability.
Collaboration as the driver of progress
Behind every data point is collaboration at scale. Through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, more than 200 companies and 950 stakeholders work together pre-competitively to share research, align measurement and accelerate progress across nutrition, environment and community impact.
This structure, where farmers, cooperatives, processors and customers work toward shared goals, is what turns individual actions into industrywide results. The U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, now covering more than 77% of US milk production, ensures consistency and transparency across the value chain, reinforcing that sustainability is a collective responsibility.
It’s an approach few food sectors have been able to replicate at this scale, showing how system-level change happens when collaboration becomes part of the operating model.
Turning commitment into action
The 2023 to 2024 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report demonstrates how far the industry has come, but the real story is what comes next. Measuring progress is no longer enough; the goal is to make it happen faster, smarter and in ways that balance environmental ambition with economic reality.
Across the dairy community, innovation, data and shared accountability are transforming sustainability from aspiration to everyday practice. The next chapter of US dairy’s story is one of action, proving that progress isn’t just measured by data, but in the impact it makes for people, the planet and generations to come.
“The work ahead won’t be easy, but it’s work worth doing,” says Scanlon. “U.S. dairy is showing what it looks like when an industry takes responsibility, measures what matters and acts on what it learns.”
For more information on how US dairy is nourishing people today, while safeguarding shared resources for tomorrow, view the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report.