Cattle Australia has committed to developing a national framework for international reporting and land management practices in Australia’s beef production systems following a meeting last month of more than 50 industry leaders in Rockhampton.
Cattle Australia CEO, Dr Chris Parker, said the sector recognised it needed to be part of the solution in providing evidence-based deforestation and biodiversity information about the Australian landscape.
“It’s just not feasible to compare Australia’s land management practices for beef production with other jurisdictions,” Dr Parker said. “So we need to develop fit-for-purpose, regionally specific indicators for global reporting that recognise our inherent ecological differences.”
Dr Parker said more than 40,000 producers of grass fed cattle, and Australian farmers in general, had a history of innovating and developing land management practices to suit the environment.
“While we haven’t always got it right, we have a proven history of learning and evolving our practices as science and research and development has improved,” he said.
Extensive research across Australia’s diverse bioregions had informed the government’s monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement tool. It would be used to develop a national definition of deforestation, which would be globally accepted for use in the supply chain and by financial institutions.
It would be used to create a sustainability standard on environmental stewardship for use in traceability systems.
Dr Parker said with more than 6,000 global companies aligned to the Science Based Target initiative and companies being required to report reduced emissions, zero deforestation and improvements to biodiversity, the importance of verified ecological credentials would continue to grow.
“By 2024, these companies will be required to report progress against these targets through mandatory public disclosure,” he said.
“With 70 per cent of Australia’s beef exported to global markets we are committed to providing greater transparency and traceability.
“Ultimately, our vision is to protect and enhance Australia’s unique environment, grow efficient and resilient beef businesses and thriving rural communities, while building consumer confidence and meeting international ESG reporting requirements.
Cattle Australia is expecting the framework to be developed by the end of the 2024 calendar year to meet SBTi guidance requirements for 2025.
