The purpose of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) is to report on how the beef industry is meeting the expectations of consumers, customers, investors, and stakeholders in areas they have identified as being important: animal welfare, economic resilience, environmental stewardship and people and the community.
The Australian Beef Sustainability Framework supports priorities in the Red Meat 2030 plan for improving transparency, aligning practices with community expectations and building trust in the red meat sector.
The Australian Beef Sustainability Framework is an initiative of the Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) . The Framework is managed by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and is led by a Sustainability Steering Group made up of representatives from across the beef value chain.
Yes, around 30 industry groups and companies throughout the beef value chain were consulted over a three-month period. This helped guide development of the draft Framework.
Yes, over 30 face-to-face meetings with external stakeholders were held. These meetings covered retailers, special interest groups, banks, NGOs, investors, government, scientists, and media.
No, a third phase of consultation was undertaken where anyone interested could review the draft framework and provide feedback via a consultation website. This consultation ran from January to February 2017.
Our commitment is to listen to stakeholders and consider all constructive views. All suggestions are considered and implemented where possible and credible. Due to the nature of the Framework and differing views of our stakeholders, not all suggestions and requests could be included.
Wherever possible indicators for important areas of production will be established by industry to help track progress. This will enable the industry to measure and share its performance over time.
The Framework is created and driven by the Australian beef industry. The Framework is not linked with the GRSB, however it aligns with various global initiatives and agreements.
Sustainability can be a very emotive word, and it can mean different things to different people. We are working with industry and the community to define what sustainability means for the Australian beef industry. This definition has been used to frame our indicators. Even if you don’t like the term sustainability, we know that the environmental, economic, and social performance of our industry is important to our customers and to every person in the beef value chain.
The Framework is a whole-of-industry snapshot that will use existing data so there is no input required from individual farms. It is not a certification or on-farm system.
This approach has been taken to minimise cost for the industry and does not require any input from producers.
Customers and the community want to know how their food is produced and increasingly expect information about production. It’s unlikely that consumers will pay more, but the reality is that sustainability credentials are becoming a market access issue. The Framework will ensure we have facts to back up our claims.
A "grassroots group" working with industry to develop a Framework that paints a clear and honest picture of the industry’s performance across economic, social, environmental, and animal welfare areas.
For more Frequently Asked Questions, please view the 2022 Annual Update Q&A.