A dairy is evaporation plus refrigeration: pasteurisers, evaporators and spray dryers fight the chillers all day. Heat integration between the hot and cold sides is the defining opportunity — and milk powder's spray dryer is the energy monster of the food industry.
| Year | Free allocation (EU) | Payable carbon cost | Annual bill (per 100,000 t milk) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 97.5% | €0.29 / t milk | €29,025 |
| 2030 | 51.5% | €5.63 / t milk | €563,085 |
| 2034 | 0.0% | €11.61 / t milk | €1,161,000 |
At EUA €77.4 (11 Jun 2026) and ≈0.1–0.2 t CO2/t milk processed (energy only). EU ETS industry schedule; exporters under CBAM follow the mirrored phase-in. Power sectors pay 100% from day one.
Indicative reduction potential of each measure against the relevant emissions share (sources: IEA industry roadmaps, sector associations — see each measure page). Measures stack but don't simply add.
Dairy CIP regimes are brutal on insulation — which is why so much dairy pipework runs bare. Removable hygienic covers are the engineered answer: off for inspection, on in minutes, no soaked mineral wool after washdown. The same survey logic as breweries applies, scaled to pasteurised litres.
Method: ASTM C680 / ISO 12241 surface energy balance — the same engine as our public calculators. Typical removable-insulation effect across hot-process plants: 2–5% of fuel-related CO2, payback up to 2 years.
Direct-emission intensities, typical published values per industry page — units differ by product; see each page for sources.
