German feed industry gains access to standardised sustainability data through DVT–GFLI agreement

GERMANY – The German Feed Association has signed a licence agreement with the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI), giving feed companies across Germany access to standardised life cycle assessment (LCA) data, in a move aimed at improving environmental transparency and supporting sustainability strategies across the sector.

The agreement enables companies to calculate the environmental footprint of feed products using harmonised, internationally recognised data. 

This marks the first time such a comprehensive dataset has been made available across an entire national feed market, setting a benchmark for consistent sustainability reporting in animal nutrition.

Under the licence, feed manufacturers can use the data for internal analysis, research and development, consulting, and reporting. 

“As pioneers in objective sustainability reporting, we as feed industry are proud to be able to provide farmers with all the data they need to assess the environmental impact of feed rations,” emphasises Dr Hermann Josef Baaken, Managing Director of DVT.

The objective is to provide a reliable, science-based foundation for evaluating feed rations and identifying opportunities to reduce environmental impact. 

By standardising methodologies, the initiative allows for objective comparisons across products and production systems.

The dataset, developed by GFLI, covers a wide range of feed raw materials and evaluates their environmental impact across the full life cycle, from production to use. 

This supports more informed decision-making at both the feed mill and farm level, particularly as livestock producers face increasing pressure to demonstrate sustainability performance.

The agreement will initially coordinate with Germany’s newly established QS Climate Platform, aligning environmental data used in feed formulation with broader efforts to document emissions across the meat value chain. 

This integration is expected to strengthen traceability and consistency in sustainability metrics from feed production through to final animal products.

The move comes as sustainability reporting becomes a central requirement across European agriculture, driven by regulatory frameworks and retailer commitments. 

Feed accounts for a significant share of livestock-related emissions, making more accurate data critical for reducing the environmental footprint of animal production.

Beyond Germany, similar agreements are under development in other European markets, including Denmark, the Netherlands and France. 

This suggests a broader shift towards harmonised environmental assessment tools across the region’s feed industry.

In recent years, companies such as Cargill and Nutreco have invested in digital tools and carbon footprinting platforms to help customers measure and reduce emissions linked to feed. 

The DVT–GFLI agreement builds on this trend by providing a standardised dataset that can be applied consistently across the industry.

As sustainability moves from voluntary reporting to a competitive and regulatory requirement, access to verified, comparable data is expected to play a key role in shaping feed formulation, sourcing strategies and long-term investment decisions across the European livestock sector.

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