Queen's University Belfast and Cadbury UK Limited KTP 24_25 R3

Cadbury is mapping out exactly how each dairy farm it buys from can cut greenhouse gas emissions, from cow feed to milk tanker. Milk and cream are essential ingredients in every Cadbury bar, but dairy farming produces significant methane and carbon dioxide. The company has committed to net zero by 2050, yet there is no standard playbook for how different types of farms—from small grass-based herds to large indoor operations—can actually achieve deep emission cuts while staying profitable. This project, a partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and Cadbury UK, will identify which sustainability practices and technologies work in real farm settings, then build feasible, costed pathways for each farm type. If successful, the research will give Cadbury a practical toolkit to decarbonise its dairy supply chain without simply switching suppliers. That matters because the company buys from hundreds of farms across the UK and Ireland. The pathways could also serve as a template for other food manufacturers facing the same problem: how to reduce emissions from raw ingredients that are inherently hard to change. The project is applied, not fundamental science—it aims to produce actionable routes to net zero, not new theory.