The ABSF defines sustainable beef production and tracks performance over a series of indicators annually.
ABSF sustainability steering group chair Tess Herbert said despite a year of unprecedented challenges, the report card revealed the Australian beef industry was heading in the right direction.
“The past year has been like no other – travel restrictions, lockdowns, quarantine and global disruption have disrupted supply chains and important revenue pathways,” Ms Herbert said.
“Despite the many challenges, responses to our producer sustainability survey increased four-fold demonstrating producers are more engaged with the process of promoting industry transparency and progress.”
The report card found that despite herd rebuild, in 2018 the Australian beef industry had a 51.46 per cent reduction in the carbon footprint of the industry since the baseline year of 2005.
The figure from last year’s report has also been restated from 56.7 per cent to 53.9 per cent.
A greater focus on pain relief has seen an estimated 30 per cent of producers now use pain relief for routine, necessary husbandry practices.
This is has increased from 21 per cent last year.
Ms Herbert said by working collaboratively within industry and with our customers and investors, the framework was able to provide a clear and transparent report card on where the industry is up to in the areas they care most about.
“Extensive consultation has been undertaken to optimise indicators and collect the data not only to track performance but identify new opportunities and priority areas for the industry,” Ms Herbert said.
Red Meat Advisory Council independent chair John McKillop said this year marked five years since the council appointed the first Sustainability Steering Group in 2016 and since then many other industries have followed suit.
“The Australian beef industry is at the forefront of setting global benchmarks for animal health, welfare, environmental management and product integrity,” Mr McKillop said.
“Australia’s beef industry supply chain set the agenda well before most other industries had even started to consider similar reporting frameworks.”For a full copy of the ABSF Annual Update, visit www.sustainableaustralianbeef.com.au
