Using those methodologies throughout the beef value chain can create a common system. The Context Network is leading this first phase and we look forward to sharing more on the progress over the coming months. This is the first of our Beef Sustainability Roadmap projects approved by the board.
We need to look at some similar ideas in relation to both our Nature Positive and Animal Health and Welfare goals, and eventually for our social impact goal as well.
While LCA's for climate impact have been around for quite some time, and thus the concept of carbon credits is now familiar, the Nature Positive space has not developed as far.
Given the urgent need to preserve biodiversity there is also a market emerging for biodiversity credits. For example, in the UK the government has developed the Biodiversity Net Gain approach linked to statutory biodiversity credits. Australia launched a biodiversity credit scheme a year ago, and there are discussions on setting up a biodiversity credit system in New Zealand.
It may be useful to take a step back and consider the market approaches available and the types of biodiversity credits that might be included in a taxonomy. This report covers the approach being jointly led by France and the UK to create "a Global Roadmap to Harness Biodiversity Credits," working with other countries and key partners, with a view to scaling up the use of biodiversity-positive carbon credits and biodiversity certificates, and structure biodiversity credit markets in ways that deliver significant, equitable, nature positive outcomes.
You will find a list of approaches or taxonomy on page 16, which, to summarise, include a) philanthropic claims, b) mandatory biodiversity offsets, c) biodiversity linked carbon credits, d) beyond value chain credits or certificates, e) insetting credits, f) biodiversity as a new financial asset class.
Recent exposés on carbon credits have underlined the importance for transparency and clarity in these markets.
It is going to be equally important for biodiversity credits to operate transparently and therefore to (going back to the report above) "Provide credible, timely, and affordable measurement and monitoring of the state, improvement, and/or maintenance of biodiversity," or more simply accounting for nature.
Our Nature Positive Working Group will be discussing how we might do this in the coming months. I feel that this is once again an area in which a common approach across the beef industry to manage insetting within the value chain will pay dividends for all, and provide recognition for the on-farm & ranch work that protects so much of our biodiversity today.
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I was sent this Health for Animals report last week. GRSB members Zoetis, Elanco and Merck are all leaders of Health for Animals, and Dr. Greg Thoma from Colorado State University was one of the review panelists for the report.
The results are fascinating. It is a regression analysis of expected global results using data drawn predominantly from FAO. Using the amount of data they accessed, it paints a very vivid picture of the impact of animal health interventions on food supply and human development.
It is well worth reading so I don't want to use so many quotes that you fail to look at the report itself, but for beef cattle this jumps out straight away: "A 60% global vaccination rate for beef cattle is associated with a 52.6% rise in production. Based on global productivity levels, this rise is equivalent to the beef consumption needs of 3.1 billion people."
Figures like that cannot fail to make one realise the importance of good animal care in sustainability. Once again all of our goals are interlinked: Yes, good welfare and animal health is essential to giving the animals in our care a life worth living, AND it contributes to massive efficiency savings which in turn mean a lower environmental impact.
Although we see the figure above reported as a 52.6% rise in production, it could also be seen as a 52.6% reduction in impact per kg. The same production from a smaller supporting herd means less expansion and less land conversion. Whichever way you choose to cut it, the benefits are critical to our sustainability story and we should be using these when we talk about what we know is achievable.
Combined with carbon and biodiversity insetting and the importance of animal sourced foods from lands that cannot produce crops for human nutrition, we have a very strong case to make.
