RED meat industry bodies have this week released their Carbon Neutral by 2030 roadmap, designed to help industry stakeholders across the supply chain address the challenge of carbon abatement at a micro-level within their own businesses, towards the broader ten-year objective.

The Roadmap describes what a carbon neutral Australian red meat industry means, why industry has set the target, the work areas industry will focus on between now and 2030, and how the industry can execute those work areas.

The document (click here to access) was facilitated by the Red Meat Advisory Council on behalf of industry peak councils and service delivery companies including ALFA, CCA, ALEC, AMIC, Sheep Producers Australia, AMPC, Livecorp and MLA.

Within the document, producers can learn “how to connect the actions of their operations to wider industry actions and how to reduce net emissions while remaining profitable.”

“The CN30 Roadmap is for the people that live, work and own red meat businesses, and those within our community who consume our product and benefit from our industry,” MLA managing director Jason Strong says in the foreword.

“It will be our industry’s people, customers and consumers who will empower industry to achieve CN30, while remaining the trusted supplier of the highest quality protein,” he said.

“The CN30 target, alongside investment in technologies and practices that demonstrate the industry is proactively addressing emissions, reinforces the industry’s reputation as a global leader in sustainable food production. This is a key point of difference for Australian red meat in a competitive global protein market,” Mr Strong said.

Ambitious target

Carbon Neutral by 2030 (CN30) is an ambitious target for the Australian red meat and livestock industry to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. This means that, by 2030, the industry aims to make no net release of GHG emissions into the atmosphere.

If successful, carbon neutrality will be achieved through reductions in emissions from grazing management, lotfeeding and processing, in addition to increases in carbon storage in soils and vegetation.

The industry’s CN30 Roadmap describes the technologies and practices required for industry to “thrive in a carbon neutral future.”

It is built with industry’s key national and global stakeholders in mind, including industry (producers, lotfeeders, processors and retailers), customers, consumers and communities, governments and other partners such as agricultural research and development corporations, research organisations and private sector solution providers.

The CN30 Roadmap says it provides industry stakeholders the opportunity to understand and use relevant information to inform current and future decision-making and action.

However, not all parts of the CN30 Roadmap will be relevant to all stakeholders. For producers, lotfeeders, processors and retailers, it provides information on how to connect the individual actions of their operations to wider industry actions and how to reduce net emissions while remaining productive and profitable.

For customers, consumers and communities, the Roadmap demonstrates how the red meat industry plans to remain productive and profitable in a low carbon economy. It also shows how industry will tackle the climate challenges that lie ahead, and how customer, consumer and community support will be critical to achieving CN30.

For government, the Roadmap provides information on potential emissions avoidance and carbon storage opportunities, areas requiring future investment and how a supportive policy framework is required to drive technology adoption and practice change. It also describes how the industry will track and report progress towards carbon neutrality.

For other partners, the Roadmap describes collaboration opportunities to support industry’s transition to a carbon neutral position.

The CN30 Roadmap enables stakeholders to navigate a series of complex economic, social and environmental issues influencing almost all aspects of the red meat value chain, from animal genetics through to meat processing and consumer marketing.

There are four key areas of work, representing the most important issues in pursuit of the CN30 target:

• Emissions avoidance
• Carbon storage
• Integrated management systems
• Leadership building.

The technologies in each work area have been selected based on their potential impact and are based on current knowledge and understanding of science, policy and market conditions. The work areas will require annual review as knowledge and priorities evolve, and progress is made towards the CN30 target.

Collaboration throughout the value chain – with Government, the research community and other interested stakeholders – will be critical, the document says. These collaborations will bring to life the technologies and market development activities required to enable industry to transition to a profitable, socially responsible, carbon neutral position by 2030.

The report also outlines MLA resources and support available to get each business in the red meat supply chain CN30 ready. It divides these actions into three time-frames:

• What can be done today
• What can be done within three years
• What can be done in the longer-term.

Focused on the ‘win‑wins’

The document says industry’s approach to achieving the CN30 target is focused on delivering multiple benefits to stakeholders:

• Herd/flock management practices, genetic technologies, and novel animal feeds/supplements can both increase productivity and reduce enteric methane emissions
• Legumes can raise animal and soil productivity and reduce enteric methane emissions
• Increases in organic carbon storage in soils improves soil health and drought resilience, and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Appropriate integration of trees and shrubs into grazing management can improve carbon storage, animal health and welfare, and biodiversity.

Whether it is reducing net emissions, boosting productivity or developing new markets, industry’s actions under the CN30 Roadmap will deliver multiple benefits aligned to stakeholder values, the report says.

• Click here to read the full document.