SDG Climate Action

As one of the frontrunners in the Artificial Insemination (AI) cattle breeding industry, we have an aim and responsibility to achieve better social and environmental conditions. We already implement six out of the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). All of them are relevant to the industry where we operate.

In terms of Goal #13 regarding Climate Action, we are leading an investigation to find a formula to obtain a breeding value for reduced methane emissions in dairy cattle. Methane is up to 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) in terms of its contribution to greenhouse emissions, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

“Our most important discovery is that there is a genetic component to methane emissions, which means this is heritable. As such, you can select animals with reduced methane emissions,” says VikingGenetics project manager, Jan Lassen.

“These findings can help to design more climate-friendly cows along with production and feed efficiency that can be a game-changer for dairy farmers all around the world,” Lassen explains.

These studies are very important as VikingGenetics already exports genetics to 50 countries, while according to the IPCC, methane accounted for about 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Denmark itself accounts for 0.1 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,

VikingGenetics is also part of the Global Climate Task Force, a Danish initiative to develop concrete initiatives to minimize greenhouse gas emissions at a global level.