Meiji Holdings and DSM-Firmenich will improve the sustainability of dairy

DSM-firmenich, an innovator in health, nutrition and beauty, and Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd., a leading Asian dairy company based in Japan, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase the sustainability of Japanese dairy farming through the implementation from Bovaer. This is the first such agreement in Asia.

Bovaer is a extensively studied and scientifically proven solution to the challenge of reducing methane emissions from livestock. In the dairy sector, methane is the most common and most potent greenhouse gas. It mainly occurs in the digestive tract of cows and is released when the animals burp. By implementing Bovaer, methane emissions in dairy cattle can be reduced by approximately 30% and in beef cattle by 45%.

In 2021, Japan joined the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce absolute methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Within Japan, more than 80% of methane emissions are attributable to the agricultural sector (e.g. rice and livestock). Providing an instrument to reduce emissions from more than 1 million dairy cows and more than 3 million beef cows is therefore an important lever to achieve this ambition.

“We are excited to expand the use of Bovaer to Asia. I look forward to working with Meiji HD to explore how Bovaer can be implemented in the Japanese dairy sector and especially in the Meiji HD supply chain. Preparatory work will now begin while we wait for local market authorization,” said Mark van Nieuwland, Vice President Bovaer at DSM-Firmenich.

Bovaer is already commercially available in 58 countries, including the EU, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia, most of Latin America and select other markets. Authorities are currently assessing an application for registration in Japan.