Dairy Industry Submission to:
Victorian Government
Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Stakeholder Consultation April 2015
The case for exclusion of the dairy industry from the VEET scheme
For 20 years, the Australian dairy industry has been investing in new technologies and practices
to reduce green-house gas emissions (GHE). This strong commitment is enshrined in an industrywide Sustainability Framework that has won acclaim both in Australia and abroad for its
proactive and future-facing proposals.
The Framework commits the industry to improving resource efficiency and a 30% reduction of
GHG emissions intensity by 2020. The industry reports annually on Framework targets and
progress has already been, for example, in 2014 a 14.5% drop in company GHE emissions and
10.5% fall in water use intensity were reported.
In addition, Dairy Australia and a number of large dairy companies have joined the Global Dairy
Agenda for Action (AGDAA) and committed to the 11 key sustainability criteria and Strategic
Intents.
It is the dairy industry’s view that the activities under the current VEET scheme do not support
the strategic plans for the industry's investment in improving energy efficiency. Further, the
extra cost burden of the scheme will divert funds from investment in resource and processing
improvements and reduce our international competitiveness.
More than 60% of the national dairy industry is based in Victoria with a focus on the export of
milk powder, cheese and whey products. These are energy intensive products, and rising energy
prices have galvanized dairy companies to act to improve at the margins.
The profitability of the industry is driven by investing in the incremental improvement of energy
and processing efficiency along the supply chain and has included new plant and equipment,
new technologies, and research focused on energy efficiency and energy recovery.
The VEET scheme represents a cost of $1.2M to Victorian dairy processors, which is a significant
burden and risks the competitiveness of the industry.
The preferred option for dairy is a voluntary scheme where companies can opt in with the ability
to choose the type of investment and activity covered by VEET and sell certificates to offset
investments costs.
Individual dairy companies have indicated that they may register for VEET if the activities
covered under the scheme have a beneficial outcome for the company. It must be remembered
that the investments being made are very specific technologies unique to dairy processing and
not generic with other industries.
Due to the costs associated, these technologies are now taken up with replacement of old plant
and equipment or the building of new green field factories. These include:

Evaporators and dryers for milk powder production

New milk processing equipment E.g. Plate heat exchangers, membrane filtration systems
and cheese processing equipment

Milk processing equipment for UHT and fresh pasteurised milk
For further information please contact:
Dr Peter Stahle
Executive Director
Australian Dairy Products Federation
Mob 04 1935 6404 email p.stahle@adpf.org.au