2023 Annual Update to reveal new sustainability goals for the beef industry

Photo Credit: Nicole Hayes

The annual sustainability report card of the Australian beef industry will break new ground this year, with goals to be announced for the first time.

The Annual Update of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF), to be released on June 8, provides the latest data across more than 50 indicators of sustainability under the four themes of Best Animal Care, Environmental Stewardship, Economic Resilience, and People and the Community.

ABSF Sustainability Steering Group (SSG) Chair, Mark Davie, said with the Annual Update now in its third edition, trends are being identified across a diverse range of measures.

"With three years of data on some of our metrics we are getting a better understanding of our successes, a sense of the rate of improvement, and, just as importantly, where we need to direct more attention,” Mr Davie said.

“In the lead-up to the launch of the Annual Update, we knew the next evolution of this approach is to take these learnings and formulate goals to drive the industry forward and demonstrate to an increasingly sustainability-minded public its world-leading credentials.”

John McKillop, chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council, which oversees the ABSF, said five goals will be unveiled at the launch of the Annual Update in Melbourne.

“The goals that we will announce have been formulated over a period of months and following extensive consultation with the industry, including a survey of participants,” Mr McKillop said.

“This is an important development for the ABSF because maintaining trust with our consumers is critical to our ambition of expanding our international markets and doubling the value of Australian red meat sales by 2030.”