SEVERAL major cattle producing nations countries have provided updates on their work to measure and assess beef sustainability for the 2024 Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) progress report.

The GRSB brings together organisations, roundtables and individuals in 24 countries, including 12 national roundtables across five continents which actively participate as members.

In 2021 the GRSB committed to three primary goals:

Climate: Globally reduce the net warming footprint of each unit of beef by 30% by 2030, on a pathway to climate neutrality. Be able to report measured progress by 2025.

Nature Positive Production: By 2030, GRSB and its members will ensure the beef value chain is a net-positive contributor to nature.

Animal Health and Welfare Goal: Provide cattle with a good quality of life and an environment where they can thrive.

It is also developing a fourth goal around Social Wellbeing.

The 2024 report released late last week is the first full sustainability report released by the GRSB.

It says national and regional roundtables have multiple approaches for sustainability assessment and are at various levels of development, but all have reported on their levels of commitment in the 2024 report.

The report details sustainability targets that a range of member nations have set and progress they have reported towards achieving their various goals, with some examples of the report including:

Argentina

Climate

Mesa Argentina de Carne Sustentable (MACS) has set a climate reduction target aligned with the GRSB goal of 30% reduction in emissions by 2030. The baseline is currently being measured and established based on producer responses.

MACS has also developed a producer self-assessment tool (Sustainability Indicators Self-Assessment Guide; Guía de Autoevaluación de Indicadores de Sustentabilidad) designed to help beef producers assess and improve their sustainability practices

Australia

Climate The Australian beef industry targets net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its production and processing sectors by 2030. A baseline was set in 2005 through the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts representing the Australian Government’s submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Australian Red Meat Industry’s Carbon Neutral by 2030 Roadmap outlines specific practices to prepare the red meat industry to meet their target.

The Environmental Credentials for Grassfed Beef platform provides beef producers with learning materials across five sustainability themes (carbon balance; biodiversity; stewardship; groundcover; tree cover and drought resilience). It also enables produces to access, generate and share data on indicators to generate an environmental credential report that can be shared across the supply chain.

Meat & Livestock Australia undertook a life cycle assessment to determine environmental impacts, including GHG emissions, water, energy, and land use across the industry for the five years from 2016 to 2020 to update the ongoing trends analysis.

The study allowed industry to trace the ongoing changes and improvements in environmental performance of the industry, demonstrating the proactive progress achieved by the industry in this time.

Nature Positive Production MLA collaborates with stakeholders across Australia to deliver programs that equip producers with the knowledge and skills to put the latest research into action in the area of nature positive beef production. One example is the Rangelands Living Skin, which seeks to regenerate New South Wales rangelands to support livestock production now and into the future. It brings together producers, researchers, and advisors to identify practical, cost-effective solutions to deliver benefits for soil, plants, animals and people. Through trials, demonstrations and significant skills and knowledge building activities, the project aims to influence management practices within the producer network to increase their productivity, sustainability, and profitability.

Animal Health and Welfare The Australian beef industry has developed two targets to reach its overarching goal:

• the pursuit of non-invasive replacements for surgical procedures. Until those are available, the industry aspires to 100% use of pain relief for these procedures by 2030.
• The feedlot industry is working towards all cattle in Australian feedlots having access to shade by 2026. Based on the most recent reporting in 2023, 31pc of producers were using appropriate pain relief, while 68pc of cattle in feedlots had access to shade.

Bolivia

Climate Bolivia’s Mesa Boliviana de Carne Sostenible (MBCS) has targeted a 30pc reduction of GHG emissions in the Bolivian beef supply chain by 2030.

The MBCS has started work on approving indicators and identifying quantitative sustainability metrics across the beef supply chain to measure progress against the goal and establish a baseline

Brazil

Climate The ‘Guide of Indicators on Sustainable Livestock (Guia de Indicadores de Pecuária Sustentável; GIPS)’ is a free self-assessment management and measurement tool available to companies working through the Brazilian beef supply chain.

Nature positive production Mesa Brasileira da Pecuária Sustentável (MBPS) is working to establish aligned Nature Positive Production targets. Initial work has been done to support increased adoption of science-based land management practices through the Sustainable Livestock Farming Indicator Guide (Guia de Indicadores de Pecuária Sustentável; GIPS) program.

Canada

Climate The Canadian beef industry set a target of reducing primary production GHG emission intensity by 33pc by 2030. The target was determined through environmental life cycle modelling and scenario testing using a 2014 baseline.

The industry’s efforts have included funding research and extension on feed efficiency and utilisation, promoting environmental sustainability, and supporting improvements of forage and grassland productivity.

The National Beef Sustainability Assessment results showed a 15pc decrease in GHG emissions to produce 1 kg of beef (boneless, consumed) from birth through farmgate to the plate from 2014 to 2021.1

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) has developed the ‘CRSB Certified’ certification program to provide credible assurances for the production, processing, and sourcing of beef through certified supply chains in Canada. The standards cover natural resources, people and community, animal health and welfare, food, and efficiency and innovation.

Nature positive production The Canadian beef industry has a goal to maintain the 35 million acres of native grasslands in the care of beef producers.

The National Beef Sustainability Assessment results show that land used for beef production contributes the majority of critical habitat that wildlife need for reproduction, to raise their young (74pc) and to find food (55pc) when all of Canada’s agricultural land is considered. 

Animal Health and Welfare The Canadian beef industry has developed multiple targets aligned with the GRSB goal for Animal Health and Welfare, including ensuring the five freedoms of animal wellbeing by increasing adoption of on-farm management practices and ensuring the effectiveness of existing and future antimicrobials is preserved to support human and animal health and welfare.

In 2013, a Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle was developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council in conjunction with welfare researchers, veterinarians, animal welfare groups and other stakeholders. There are also sub-targets on: herd health management; nutritional management; preparing calves for the feedlot; excellence in animal health; excellence in animal care; feedlot management; research and development; and technology transfer.

Europe

Climate The European Roundtable for Beef Sustainability (ERBS) set a climate target to reduce GHG emissions by 15pc by 2025. An updated goal for 2030 will be published soon. Every ERBS Platform has committed to the target.

The ERBS Platforms have completed two progress reporting cycles against the climate target, one in 2021 and again in 2023.

In the 2023 GRSB sustainability reporting cycle, a total of 25 activities across the six countries were included as examples of initiatives helping drive progress on GHG.

Nature positive production The ERBS has been actively working on establishing a set of Nature-based targets for 2030 with reference to the GRSB global Nature Positive Production Goal.

Three nature targets have been established to focus on biodiversity, soil and water, and will leverage the SAI Platform Regenerating Together Framework to support progress. These targets are expected to be launched in November 2024.

Animal Health and Welfare The ERBS has set three animal welfare targets:

• All animals have access to loose housing, when housed, by 2030;
• Mortality rates are below 1.5pc and for systems with mortality rates above 1.5pc, a year on year reduction of 20pc should be achieved; and,
• Animals are given pain relief (analgesics) for all surgical procedures and for all forms of castration, dehorning and disbudding.

France

Climate BoviWell is a tool used in France to measure animal welfare on beef and dairy farms.

Adapted from the European Welfare Quality scientific framework, BoviWell includes the definition of animal welfare given by ANSES (2018) and its translation of the principle of Five Freedoms, recognized internationally and included in the World Organization for Animal Health OIE codes. The tool provides feedback, lessons and areas for improvement given to the producer.

Nature Positive Production France has been working towards a nature target on carbon stock under permanent grassland and average biodiversity surface per hectare and is reporting progress

Ireland

Climate The Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme is a certification program designed to ensure that beef and lamb producers in Ireland adhere to stringent sustainability and animal welfare standards. The scheme promotes environmentally responsible farming practices, animal health, and welfare, while providing assurance to consumers about the sustainability of the meat they purchase.

Ireland has reported a 12pc reduction in farm level GHG emissions from 2014 to 2023, with carbon footprinting done across 60,000 farmers.

New Zealand

Climate A carbon footprint was developed in 2022 that analysed beef and sheep meat produced in New Zealand and exported to different markets.

Guidance has been provided to farmers on how to measure and manage greenhouse gas emissions through farm planning, and there is a target for all farms in New Zealand to have a formal written plan to measure and manage farm greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

The New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (NZRSB), with members throughout the beef supply chain, has a GRSB aligned goal of the New Zealand beef industry being climate neutral by 2030.

Nature positive production New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (NZRSB) has developed goals that track and seek to enhance the level of participation and accreditation of beef producers across the country in assurance programs that aim to improve environmental outcomes related to soil, water, and biodiversity.

The New Zealand sheep and beef industry has an assurance program that is third-party audited every three years. Coverage of sheep and beef farms is over 90pc, although around 50pc of New Zealand beef comes from the dairy herd.

Deforestation from agricultural activities is not considered an issue for New Zealand due to strict environmental regulation.

A Beef + Lamb NZ commissioned report found that 24pc of native vegetation, and 17pc of native forest, is on sheep and beef farms. This is the largest amount of native vegetation outside of public conservation land.

Animal Health and Welfare New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (NZRSB) has developed animal health and welfare goals that demonstrate cattle are provided with a good quality of life and an environment where they can thrive.

The goals have been developed in a way that is relevant to cattle production in New Zealand and encompass non-replacement dairy calves to ensure these are included within this scope.

Paraguay

Climate The Mesa Paraguaya de Carne Sostenible (MPCS) developed a sustainable livestock self-assessment system (Sistema de Autoevaluación de Ganadería Sostenible; SAGAS) in 2020. This system is designed to enable livestock producers to evaluate their practices against sustainability criteria, covering aspects such as environmental stewardship, animal welfare, and socio-economic impact.

United States

Climate US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) has set a goal for the US beef industry to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.

The USRSB has a Recognition Program in which members across the US beef value-chain can have their sustainability programs assessed by an independent third-party for alignment with the US Beef Industry Sustainability Framework. This is not a certification program, rather, the recognition process provides a means for companies in the US to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability of their operations and the US beef industry in alignment with the USRSB Framework.

Nature positive production The USRSB has developed goals to maintain and improve grazing lands under the care of US beef producers as well as improve water resources.

These goals include achieving 385 million acres covered by a written grazing management plan by 2050.

The USRSB is also working to support programs that expand producer capacity to deploy well-managed grazing strategies to ensure lasting legacies founded on conservation and economic success.

Finally, USRSB member retail and food service companies have set a target to assess and set science-based targets to reduce conversion risk in their U.S. supply chains and will implement a strategy to reduce conversion by 2025.

Animal Health and Welfare The USRSB has set a goal for the US beef supply chain to continue to improve animal health and well-being.

Each sector target has emphasised the importance of supporting producers to obtain certifications in the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program, or equivalent. USRSB members are also encouraged to increase awareness and uptake of the US Beef Industry Sustainability Framework, which contains extensive insights into key metrics for ensuring animal health and well-being along with links to critical resources across all sectors.

Uruguay

Climate The Uruguayan Government has developed an aligned climate goal to reduce methane emissions intensity by 35pc and nitrous oxide emissions intensity by 36pc by 2030 from a 1990 baseline.

Nature positive production The Uruguayan Government through various Ministerial Divisions with the support of the National Agricultural Research Institute has set multiple targets aligned with the GRSB Nature Positive Production goal.

The Mesa Uruguaya de Carne Sostenible (MUCS) will develop specific activities to contribute to the achievement of those national targets.

Targets include:

• Protect all native forest areas from a 2012 baseline, with a goal to increase native forest areas from this baseline by 5pc by 2030, conditional on financial support.
• Maintain all forest plantation areas designated for shade and shelter, including silvopastoral systems, from a 2018 baseline.
• Apply good management practices, such as forage budgeting and grazing load management, for native grasslands and breeding herds in livestock production areas covering between 1,500,000 and 4,000,000 hectares by 2030.

To read the full GRSB 2024 Progress Report click here