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Final objective: software for optimising performance throughout the entire production cycle
The European Life TTGG project: supply chain efficiency and sustainability for PDO and PGI cheeses
Grana Padano Protection Consortium, Politecnico di Milano, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza, OriGin, Qualivita Foundation, Enersem, and CNIEL are involved in the project.
The Life TTGG “The tough get going” project, co-financed by the European Life programme for 2014-2020, is underway. The project aims to steer the development of the dairy sector towards improving production process efficiency, in order to guarantee growth and preserve quality with a view to environmental sustainability.
Conceived with the primary objective of improving the efficiency of the entire production chain of European PDO hard and semi-hard cheeses, and then extended to include all dairy products with a Geographical Indication, the project aims to achieve the design and development of Environmental Decisions Support Software (EDSS) that can assess products’ environmental footprint (Product Environmental Footprint- PEF), and promote its reduction, thereby permitting the adoption of solutions and techniques to optimise the performance of the entire production cycle.
Grana Padano Protection Consortium is involved in the project, together with research institutes like Politecnico di Milano and its spin-off Enersem, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza, OriGin (Swiss organisation), the Qualivita Foundation, and CNIEL (French organisation). The activities are underway and there is a high involvement of dairies, livestock farms, and packers in the supply chains for Grana Padano PDO and French Comté PDO, with the participation of more than 98 dairy farms, 39 dairies, and 22 cheese packers/affineurs. The end date has been set for 2021, and the study aims to result in product certification associated with an integrated packaging system for communicating the product’s environmental performance to the final consumer.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE TTGG project, running from 2017 to 2021 and co-financed by the European Commission, aims to:
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reduce the environmental impact of the PDO cheese supply chain by applying the European Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method and specific regulations for the dairy sector;
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develop online decisions support software that will be able to suggest actions to reduce environmental impact and make the supply chain more efficient;
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increase company and consumer awareness towards economically and environmentally sustainable production and consumption). The software will initially be designed specifically for the two supply chains involved in the project (Grana Padano PDO and Comté PDO), and customisable in the future for each Geographical Indication supply chain;
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transfer the acquired knowledge to other European PDO and PGI cheese supply chains, extending the methodology to other European countries (United Kingdom, Spain, France).
OPPORTUNITIES
The project aims to provide tangible benefits for all the elements involved between the “dairy farm and the table”, from dairies to processors and packers, right through to consumers:
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a tool to simplify the environmental certification process in the dairy supply chain;
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a coordinated communications action to inform the consumer of products’ environmental performance;
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the prospect of cost reductions throughout the entire supply chain (milk production, transformation of milk into cheese, and product packaging);
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an opportunity to provide tools and transfer knowledge at a low cost compared to the market;
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the added plus of supply chain software, perceived as an element that will strengthen and aggregate the entire supply chain, thereby strengthening its brand;
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an opportunity to join different European and national sustainability programmes in accordance with the new European Green Deal, thanks to the methodology developed and recognised by the European Commission.