Australian Beef Sustainability Framework opens for Comment
The Red Meat Advisory Council today announced the draft Australian Beef Sustainability Framework is available for industry comment.
The draft Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (the draft Framework) focusses on fostering longevity and prosperity for producers and consumers alike for the 18-billion-dollar Australian beef sector.
Independent Chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC), Don Mackay, said the draft Framework was the culmination of extensive consultation.
“The draft Framework has been developed following discussions with industry, retailers, regulators, financial organisations, special interest groups and customers.”
“We now want all members of the beef value chain – from producers to consumers – to help us define what sustainable Australian beef means; and how we measure and report this to the wider community,” Mr Mackay said.
The draft Framework focusses on four key themes with priority areas for industry to tackle progress:
- Environmental Stewardship
- Economic Resilience
- People & the Community
- Animal Welfare
The draft Framework supports priorities in the Meat Industry Strategic Plan 2020, which focus on improving transparency, aligning practices with community expectations and building trust in the red meat sector.
“We wish to paint a clear and honest picture of sustainable beef in Australia and how we are responding to changing demands within the community to position our industry for the future,” says Mr Mackay.
The development of the draft Framework has been led by RMAC’s Sustainability Steering Group (SSG), an 11-person grass roots industry group from across all industry sectors.
SSG Chair Prue Bondfield says the draft Framework addresses priority areas throughout the beef value chain, covering farm production, lot-feeding, processing and live exports.
“We have identified key priority areas and potential measures. It’s now open to the industry and the community to comment on whether the areas identified to date are the right ones,” Ms Bondfield says.
“The framework will be used to help guide continual improvement by industry, so it’s critical that we have the right priority areas.”
Open consultation via an online platform runs for six weeks from January 11 to February 17, 2017. Visit http://www.sustainableaustralianbeef.com.au/ to join the conversation and offer feedback on the draft Framework.
The Australian Beef Sustainability Framework inaugural report is due to be released in March 2017.