DAIRY+
Specific objective: SO 6 - Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy
Typology: Standard project
The transition from linear production models to models linked to the circular economy is considered a common need at cross-border level and represents, at the same time, a great opportunity to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of strategic economic sectors, which in recent years have been affected by the pandemic crisis, the consequences of the international geopolitical situation and changes in market demand. EU policies, cascaded at national and then regional level, recognise the fundamental contribution of food systems towards sustainable development and the reduction of waste, through the recovery and reuse of by-products. In the cross-border area, the dairy value chain holds a very interesting potential for the circular valorisation of by-products, the most abundant of which is whey, which is currently partially used for animal feed or discarded, without envisaging higher added-value applications, with the consequent negative impacts on the environment.
- Aiming at pooling their complementary competences to develop and promote replicable shared models and solutions to support the development of a circular bioeconomy in the dairy supply chain.
- the green transition of the agrifood sector, favouring the recovery and re-use of by-products for value-added applications reducing waste and inefficiencies.
- Businesses in the dairy chain, sector agencies (local development, agri-food, health, environment), public authorities dealing with bio-economy and sustainable development,
- research and training institutions, and the cross-border community in general
- The need for cross-border cooperation and sustainable development of a circular bioeconomy in the value chain requires crossing borders, exploiting economies of scale and integrating complementary resources and skills available on both sides of the border.
The main expected outputs and results are: a circular value chain map, considering by-product recovery and reuse pathways, a cross-border stakeholder group that will animate a common circular supply chain innovation space, a common capacity-building programme for operators, a policy paper in support of strategies and measures to aid circularity in the sector, a vademecum for the proper management of by-products by companies, a technical and economic feasibility study of replicable solutions for the circular valorisation of whey (encouraging replicability by companies in the sector) with related LCA.