Global food company Cargill is set to launch the BeefUp Sustainability initiative, which aims to achieve a 30% greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity reduction across its North American beef supply chain by 2030.

BeefUp Sustainability has been designed to engage a diverse set of stakeholders, including producers, customers and innovators, and will primarily focus on grazing management, feed production, innovation and food waste reduction areas.

Cargill North American protein business lead Jon Nash said: “This initiative builds on the strong environmental stewardship work already led by farmers and ranchers.

“Cargill is creating connections across the entire North American beef supply chain. Together, we can expand current sustainable agricultural practices to make a meaningful difference.”

The opt-in initiative will reduce GHG emissions throughout Cargill’s beef supply chain from a 2017 baseline, measured on a per pound of product basis.

To achieve this goal, the company intends to work with a range of stakeholders over the next ten years.

BeefUp Sustainability will gather farmer and rancher feedback, which has been accumulated through previous projects, including the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration Pilot, on-site visits with key supply chain stakeholders and producer panels.

As part of this initiative, Cargill will further expand its partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Together, Cargill and TNC will work for three years with farmers and ranchers to improve soil, carbon storage, vegetation, wildlife habitat, water and other ecological parameters by adopting grazing management planning and adaptive management techniques.

Already, the two companies are working on programmes such as the Central Nebraska Irrigation Project, which aims to save 2.4 billion gallons of irrigation water over three years.

Cargill global animal nutrition and protein businesses sustainability lead Heather Tansey said: “Significantly reducing GHG requires change across the entire supply chain.

“We know the time to act is now and that agriculture can be part of the solution. We’re investing in science-based practices and have identified focus areas that will ensure we have the greatest environmental impact.”

Additionally, Cargill is supporting the Yield Lab Institute’s Manure Innovation Challenge as an early step in the BeefUp Sustainability initiative.

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