The market for farm-level environmental data platforms has evolved significantly in recent years, driven by a growing global push for sustainability across the agri-food industry.
This shift has been fueled by increased consumer demand for transparency, tightening regulations, and voluntary corporate commitments such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Being able to carry out life cycle assessments – a typically costly and time-consuming process – is therefore becoming a necessity for many dairy producers.
“There is an enormous need for the dairy industry to train, hire and retain people skilled in life cycle assessment (LCA), which is critical for meeting sustainability reporting requirements,” David Morris, Global LCA Director at dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health, told us.
“This is precisely why we created Sustell - to democratize LCA, making it accessible to all players, big and small, across the value chain.
The software-as-a-service platform launched in 2021 but is now facing competition from other players, as Morris told us. Yet, it remains one of the most comprehensive, covering 19 environmental impact categories of livestock production to provide a holistic view of the performance of that particular production system. (The platform can also be leveraged by the poultry, pig, and aquaculture sectors. For livestock operations, there’s scope to use the software across both pasture-based and indoor-bred production systems).
“Sustell stands out for its ability to serve the entire farm-to-fork value chain,” Morris said. “It’s the only platform offering a clear, credible, and complete environmental footprint across 19 impact categories, spanning animal proteins like eggs, milk, meat, and seafood. This makes it uniquely appealing to purchasers who demand robust, comprehensive data to inform decisions.”
The latest upgrade allows users to gain more detailed insights into their current environmental impact while offering comprehensive visibility for modeling multiple interventions for footprint reduction. More on that later.
From field to shelf
So how does the platform works? Through API integrations and strategic partnerships, it links up different value chain components - from the field to the farm to processors to retailers and even eco-labeling.
“Through Sustell, the environmental impact of a dairy operation’s carbon footprint can be tracked across the entire dairy value chain, from pasture to production,” Morris explained.
“By leveraging advanced data analytics, dairy producers have access to precise insights, reduction strategy recommendations and transparent, scientifically verifiable environmental performance metrics.”
“This translates into tangible benefits such as being able to identify which parts of their operation contribute most significantly to their environmental footprint, understand where efficiency improvements can be made, and track the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives over time.”
In a nutshell, dairy farmers can track and assess environmental impacts across all critical life stages and farm ecosystems, providing a detailed and precise understanding of sustainability performance.
“The platform captures the entire life cycle of dairy production, from calf development to mature lactating stages,” he added.
“These granular insights into the environmental footprint of each phase allow farmers to identify and address specific areas for improvement within their operations, ensuring more targeted and effective sustainability efforts.”
Introducing emissions modeling
Now, the company has upgraded the platform’s dairy module, offering producers even more flexibility to understand their climate footprint.
Specifically, users can now evaluate both their current environmental impact but also model how different sustainability interventions would affect their footprint reduction efforts.
This, in turn, can unlock value creation opportunities, such as access to sustainable finance.
See also: Financed emissions
The changes have been brought about due to evolving customer and value chain needs, he added.
“Companies seek more tailored, precise, and actionable insights from sustainability tools. Businesses now expect solutions that not only measure environmental impact, but also adapt to the complexities of their operations, providing value at every stage of the supply chain.
“Sustell now offers more robust capabilities to account for the unique characteristics of different dairy life stages and farm ecosystems,” Morris told us. “This enables companies to generate more accurate and context-specific insights, aligning sustainability goals with their operational realities.”
The new dairy module aligns with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Dairy Federation guidelines, while continuing to maintain ISO accreditation and synchronization with EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) calculation methodologies, says the company.
The upgrade also gives access to GFLI and Agri-Footprint 6.3 feed ingredient databases, including other ingredients like roughages and silage.
Going forward, “We will add further connectivity through both APIs and strategic partnerships,” Morris said, “so that entire value chains can connect, share, manage and report their environmental footprints and bring forward more sustainable food systems.”
