Pizza Hut partners with Dairy Farmers of America to improve sustainability
Known for its cheese-centric innovations, Pizza Hut along with its parent company Yum! Brands has partnered with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a farmer-owned cooperative representing more than 11,500 farm families, as well as dairy suppliers to provide participants the technology and data needed to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Pizza Hut along with the DFA and dairy suppliers have enrolled interested dairy farm families within their supply chain in a joint dairy project wherein they will participate in annual farm-level greenhouse gas and energy foot-printing through the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management and Environmental Stewardship (FARM ES) which will be evaluated over a period of three years. In 2025, at the end of the three-year period, Pizza Hut aims to source 50% of dairy products which to make its cheese for its pizzas from dairy farms enrolled in this program.
Farmers who enrol into the program will receive a SCiO cup, the world’s fastest lab-grade dry matter analyzer, which will enable them to instantly access dry matter analysis of their cows’ feed which will help deliver precise nutrition to their cows which in turn will boost the efficiency of their respective dairies, as a result of which there will be less wastage along with reduced on-farm greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, the farmers will also be eligible to apply for funds to implement sustainability projects while continuing to actively recruit DFA members throughout the partnership.
In addition to using SCiO cups, farmers participating in the program will have the chance to adopt other practices and technologies such as feed management enhancements and energy-efficient lighting.
“Pizza Hut has a long history of implementing industry-leading innovation,” said Penny Shaheen, Head of Food Innovation and Technology at Pizza Hut. “With this sustainability initiative, we’re able to utilize technology along with our dairy partners in a way that helps the environment while still delivering the iconic taste that pizza lovers have come to expect from our offerings.”
Since its inception n 1958, Pizza Hut has worked with the same family-owned business to supply 100% real cheese produced from whole milk; its commitments towards procuring the highest-quality cheese continues to remain unchanged.
With this program, Pizza Hut will leverage its national scale by partnering with DFA and dairy suppliers to help make its supply chain more environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“In 2020, Dairy Farmers of America became the first U.S. dairy cooperative to set a science-based target to reduce both direct and value chain greenhouse gas emissions, and this partnership with Pizza Hut and Dairy Farmers of America is an important piece in those continued efforts,” said Hansel New, director of sustainability programs at DFA. “We appreciate partners supporting our dairy farm families by investing in meaningful, innovative technologies and practices that advance environmental stewardship, while reducing farm-level greenhouse gas emissions.”
This strategic project is part of Pizza Hut’s broader strategy which will help all parties achieve long-term sustainability goals:
Pizza Hut along with the DFA and dairy suppliers have enrolled interested dairy farm families within their supply chain in a joint dairy project wherein they will participate in annual farm-level greenhouse gas and energy foot-printing through the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management and Environmental Stewardship (FARM ES) which will be evaluated over a period of three years. In 2025, at the end of the three-year period, Pizza Hut aims to source 50% of dairy products which to make its cheese for its pizzas from dairy farms enrolled in this program.
Farmers who enrol into the program will receive a SCiO cup, the world’s fastest lab-grade dry matter analyzer, which will enable them to instantly access dry matter analysis of their cows’ feed which will help deliver precise nutrition to their cows which in turn will boost the efficiency of their respective dairies, as a result of which there will be less wastage along with reduced on-farm greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, the farmers will also be eligible to apply for funds to implement sustainability projects while continuing to actively recruit DFA members throughout the partnership.
In addition to using SCiO cups, farmers participating in the program will have the chance to adopt other practices and technologies such as feed management enhancements and energy-efficient lighting.
“Pizza Hut has a long history of implementing industry-leading innovation,” said Penny Shaheen, Head of Food Innovation and Technology at Pizza Hut. “With this sustainability initiative, we’re able to utilize technology along with our dairy partners in a way that helps the environment while still delivering the iconic taste that pizza lovers have come to expect from our offerings.”
Since its inception n 1958, Pizza Hut has worked with the same family-owned business to supply 100% real cheese produced from whole milk; its commitments towards procuring the highest-quality cheese continues to remain unchanged.
With this program, Pizza Hut will leverage its national scale by partnering with DFA and dairy suppliers to help make its supply chain more environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“In 2020, Dairy Farmers of America became the first U.S. dairy cooperative to set a science-based target to reduce both direct and value chain greenhouse gas emissions, and this partnership with Pizza Hut and Dairy Farmers of America is an important piece in those continued efforts,” said Hansel New, director of sustainability programs at DFA. “We appreciate partners supporting our dairy farm families by investing in meaningful, innovative technologies and practices that advance environmental stewardship, while reducing farm-level greenhouse gas emissions.”
This strategic project is part of Pizza Hut’s broader strategy which will help all parties achieve long-term sustainability goals:
- Yum! and Pizza Hut: decrease GHG emissions 46% by 2030 with a focus on restaurants and supply chain and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Dairy Farmers of America: 30% GHG emissions reduction across supply chain by 2030. DFA is also part of an industry-wide collaboration through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to be greenhouse neutral or better by 2050.
The project builds on existing industry collaborations and partnerships. Since 2019, Yum! Brands has been a member of the Innovation Center’s Dairy Sustainability Alliance®, a multi-stakeholder group consisting of companies and organizations from across the dairy community and others who want to contribute to dairy’s social responsibility journey. DFA is also an active member, having joined in 2010.
“We are proud to work with Dairy Farmers of America in this innovative project,” said Jon Hixson, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Global Government Affairs at Yum! Brands. “U.S. dairy producers have set leading aspirations in sustainability and we are excited to partner with them in support of practices that improve the sustainability of the dairy supply chain.”
For more information on Yum!, Pizza Hut, and Dairy Farmers of America, do visit yum.com, pizzahut.com, and dfamilk.com respectively.
“We are proud to work with Dairy Farmers of America in this innovative project,” said Jon Hixson, Chief Sustainability Officer and Vice President of Global Government Affairs at Yum! Brands. “U.S. dairy producers have set leading aspirations in sustainability and we are excited to partner with them in support of practices that improve the sustainability of the dairy supply chain.”
For more information on Yum!, Pizza Hut, and Dairy Farmers of America, do visit yum.com, pizzahut.com, and dfamilk.com respectively.
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