U.S. ROUNDTABLE FOR SUSTAINABLE BEEF INDICATOR AND METRIC SUMMARY WWW.USRSB.ORG
Vision Mission The U.S. beef value chain is the trusted global leader in environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable beef. Advance, support and communicate continuous improvement in the sustainability of U.S. beef production by educating and engaging the beef value-chain through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort. BEEF SUSTAINABILITY AT A GLANCE 05 06 07 08 USRSB Formed USRSB High Priority USRSB Sustainability USRSB Sustainability Indicators Developed Metrics Developed Assessment Guides 09 Outreach and Education Efforts HIGH PRIORITY INDICATORS ANIMAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING EFFICIENCY & YIELD WATER RESOURCES LAND RESOURCES AIR & GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS EMPLOYEE SAFETY & WELL-BEING
USRSB SUSTAINABILITY ASSURANCEFRAMEWORK 0 0 0 04 05 INDICATORS FOR BEEF VALUE CHAIN Animal Health & Well-Being; Efficiency & Yield; Water Resources; Land Resources; Air & Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Employee Safety & Well-Being SEGMENT SPECIFIC METRICS Developed for each indicator: Producers, Packers & Processors, and Retail & Food Service with Allied Industry and Civil Society Input at every segment SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT GUIDES Self-assessments / Tools / Resources EDUCATION, TRAINING & OUTREACH Throughout the Beef Value Chain EXTERNAL PROJECTS Pilot Projects / Research IMPLEMENTED BY BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS SUPPLY CHAINS SECOND-PARTY CERTIFICATION THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION [ INDICATOR WORKING GROUP ] [ ENGAGEMENT, MEASUREMENT & PROGRESS WORKING GROUP ] USRSB TO DEVELOP, OWN & PROMOTE USE The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) is committed to continuously improving the sustainability of the U.S. beef value chain and becoming the trusted global leader in environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable beef. It brings together a diverse stakeholder group inclusive of the entire beef value chain representing cow-calf producers, auction markets, feedyards, packers, processors, retail and food service organizations. In total, the more than 00 members of the USRSB impact 0 percent of the cattle herd, more than 0 billion pounds of beef processed and more than 70 million consumers across the U.S. The USRSB also has over 0 academic and conservation organizations providing technical support and guidance. Since its recent 05 inception, the USRSB has aligned to 6 high-priority indicators and developed metrics for each sector to measure progress. More than 80 USRSB members worked together to develop indicators and metrics, guided by technical facilitation and support from the University of Arkansas. INDICATOR AND METRIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: USRSB focused on the fundamental questions: Indicators: What areas are most important to the beef value chain? Metrics: How can each segment of the chain assess and measure progress within each indicator? Member engagement and multi-stakeholder collaboration was key to the indicator and metric development process. To guide decisions and provide leadership for each segment of the chain, Indicator Working Group sector champions led their individual constituencies in the development of their specific metrics. Civil society and allied industry members provided input across all sectors during the metric development process. The metrics developed by each sector of the beef value chain are presented by indicator on the following pages. For further details please review the full Indicator and Metric Report. WWW.USRSB.ORG
BEEF LIFECYCLE Operations that maintain a breeding herd of cows and bulls, and produces weaned calves. FEEDYARDS Operations where cattle are fed a balanced diet for 4-6 months and receive daily care. Markets for cattle through which cattle are sold. 5 4 4 PACKERS & PROCESSORS Organizations or facilities that handle the harvesting, processing, packaging and/or distribution of beef. RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Organizations or establishments that sell beef to customers through retail and food service (restaurant) channels.
WATER RESOURCES The volume of water consumed and any impacts on water quality. Is a grazing management plan (or equivalent) being implemented that maintains or improves water resources? FEEDYARD Are water resource management strategies implemented at the auction market that address water management, water use optimization, conservation and water quality? Are water resource management strategies implemented at the feedyard that address water management, water use optimization, conservation and water quality? PACKER & PROCESSOR Is a water resource management plan implemented at the facility? Water Quality: How many wastewater permit non-compliances has the facility had in the previous calendar year? Water Quantity: What is the water use in gallons/head/day (packers) or gallons/ pound of beef processed (processors)? Does your company track water quality and quantity over time? Does your company have set goals for continued improvement? Does your company make water performance efforts public? Does your company participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to further advance water resource management? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Has the company assessed the water risk of its operations and locations? Does the company have a plan for water resource and risk management including both quantity and quality impacts? Is the company participating in a credible system for measuring and reporting for water stewardship? Has the company assessed the water risk of its direct beef suppliers? Has the company set water targets based on its assessments? Does the company engage suppliers and encourage adoption of USRSB water metrics in its beef supply chain? Can the company demonstrate progress toward these targets? Does the company track performance on water stewardship in itswww.usrsb.org beef supply chain? 5
EFFICIENCY & YIELD Efficiency is the unit of input required to produce a unit of output and yield is the total product generated per unit of time or space. Both concepts address waste as a negative characteristic and drive toward improved profitability. Is there a strategy implemented to optimize animal productivity through improved nutrition, reproduction, genetics, technologies and practices appropriate to their operational goals and context? FEEDYARD The initial focus of auction markets will be on the sustainability indicators for water resources, employee safety & well-being and animal & well-being. health Are cattle performance and operational efficiency tracked over time? PACKER & PROCESSOR Is a program to divert waste from landfills implemented at the facility? How much mass of waste/head or mass of waste/finished product does your company divert from landfill? Does your company track waste reduction over time and set goals for continued improvement? Does your company participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to further advance waste reduction strategies? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Has the company measured baseline Does the company have a program focused waste levels in its own operations and set on diverting waste from landfills? targets for future comparison? Does the company have policies that encourage adoption of USRSB metrics and enable suppliers to find alternative uses for obsolete or off spec product? 6 Does the company report on its waste program and outcomes? What percent of the company s waste is diverted from landfill? Does the company engage suppliers and track performance on waste minimization and diversion from landfill in its beef supply chain?
AIR & GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS The cumulative emissions of pollutants, including particulate matter, greenhouse gases and other gaseous emissions from a sector for each process. Are strategies in place to manage air and greenhouse gas emissions? PACKER & PROCESSOR Are strategies in place to optimize energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions? FEEDYARD The initial focus of auction markets will be on the sustainability indicators for water resources, employee safety & wellbeing, and animal health & well-being. Is a grazing management plan (or equivalent) being implemented to improve soil and plant community health, including soil carbon sequestration? What is your company s COe/head or COe/mass of finished product? Does your company make COe publicly available? Does your company track greenhouse gas and air emissions over time? Does your company set goals for continuous improvement? Does your company participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to further greenhouse gas reduction and improve air quality? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Has the company assessed the energy and greenhouse gas risk of its operations? Does the company use a continuous improvement environmental management system or equivalent that encompasses energy, greenhouse gas and air emissions? Does the company have a plan to reduce scope and greenhouse gas emissions? Does the company engage suppliers and encourage adoption of USRSB air & greenhouse gas metrics in its beef supply chain? Has the company assessed the greenhouse gas emissions of its supply chain? Is the company participating in a credible external system for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas or air emissions? Has the company set credible greenhouse gas emissions targets based on its assessments? Can the company demonstrate progress towards these targets? What is your company s scope + greenhouse gas emissions? Does the company track performance on greenhouse gas or air emissions in its beef supply chain? Has the company set a credible Scope greenhouse gas target? 7 WWW.USRSB.ORG Does the company report progress against this target?
LAND RESOURCES The stewardship of terrestrial and aquatic habitat in relation to water, soil and biodiversity in an area. Impacts of land use and land use conversion, both caused by and prevented by ranching and farming activities. Is a grazing management plan (or equivalent) being implemented to protect and/or improve the land resources, including succession/ transition planning? FEEDYARD The initial focus of auction markets will be on the sustainability indicators for water resources, employee safety & well-being, and animal health & well-being. Has a nutrient management strategy or plan been implemented? PACKER & PROCESSOR Does the company have initiatives and/or explore opportunities to mitigate land and biodiversity impacts for new facility developments? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Has the company assessed the deforestation risk in its beef supply chain? 8 Does the company have a no net deforestation policy for its beef supply chain?
ANIMAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING The cumulative effects of cattle heath, nutrition, care and comfort. FEEDYARD Are employees trained and auctionspecific Beef Quality Assurance principles implemented at the auction market? Are Beef Quality Assurance or similar program principles incorporated into management of the farm or ranch? Packer: Does the company have a comprehensive animal welfare program that includes third-party verification? Processor: Does your company have a documented animal welfare policy (or equivalent) and encourage the adoption of USRSB animal health and well-being metrics? PACKER & PROCESSOR Are employees trained and Beef Quality Assurance principles being implemented at the feedyard? Packer: What is your company s total number of USDA non-compliance animal welfare violations per 00,000 head processed in the previous calendar year? Packer: What percentage of cattle come under a third-party audit? What percentage pass on first audit? Processor: Does the company use second- or third-party animal welfare audits or certifications to verify compliance with its policy at least to the packer level? Does your company track animal health and well-being overtime and set goals for continued improvement? Does the company engage its suppliers or participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to advance continuous improvement regarding animal health and well-being in the beef value chain? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Does the company have a documented and publicly available animal welfare policy (or equivalent)? Does the company require second or third party animal welfare audits or certifications to verify compliance with its policy at least to the packer level? Does the company encourage the adoption of USRSB metrics and support the use of Does the company have a policy for the Beef Quality Assurance program in its audit failures? beef supply chain? Does the company engage its suppliers on continuous improvement and emerging issues regarding animal health and welfare in its beef supply chain? Does the company track progress on welfare outcomes that align with its policy and publicly disclose performance and progress against its animal welfare metrics? WWW.USRSB.ORG 9
EMPLOYEE SAFETY & WELL-BEING The implementation of safety programs and training to provide a safe workplace and help to prevent workplace accidents and injuries associated with production, processing, and distribution of beef and the relative prosperity of workers employed in those activities. FEEDYARD Is an employee safety program in place? Are all individuals who are involved in the operation trained and practices implemented with regard to stockmanship and safety on the farm or ranch? Are employees trained and is an employee safety program implemented at the feedyard? PACKER & PROCESSOR Does the company have an employee safety and well-being program that engages front-line employees and leadership? What is your company s Total Reportable Incident Rate (TRIR)? Does your company track trends on TRIR or reference the industry standard rate for goal setting? Does your company perform better than North American Industry Classification System? Does your company participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to further advance employee safety and well-being? RETAIL & FOODSERVICE Does the company have clearly documented policies and procedures around employee workplace safety and training programs? Does the company require training on food safety and handling techniques? 0 Does the company have a supplier code of conduct or equivalent and have a system for tracking compliance? Does the company use at least one metric and set targets related to worker safety for company employees? Does the company track the number of company employees participating in well-being programs or the number of employees completing safety and training programs?
WHAT S NEXT? The members of the USRSB are currently developing Sustainability Assessment Guides (SAGs) directly tied to each metric and high-priority indicator. SAGs are guiding documents intended to assist sustainability efforts by providing site-level assessment tools, decision support systems, resources and materials. Once complete, the USRSB will solicit public comment on its entire program inclusive of the high priority indicators, metrics and sustainability assessment guides. Finally, the USRSB will demonstrate applicability of the resources through member-led pilot projects. PATH TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND THEORY OF CHANGE As the USRSB works to demonstrate improvement in sustainability of the U.S. beef value chain, several foundational concepts are paramount to our success: The goal of the USRSB is to move the curve for the 6 high-priority indicators across the entire beef value chain. The USRSB will develop and update, as needed, a comprehensive sustainability package inclusive of high-priority indicators, metrics for each sector, sustainability assessment guides, tools and resources. The metrics developed by the USRSB must be measurable, implementable and understandable regardless of the scale of the operation; they must be embraced by each sector and not dictated by one sector to another; and sectors must explain how metrics will drive change in the high-priority indicators. The USRSB will continue to utilize the U.S. Beef Industry Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as the guidepost to assess progress and adapt the indicators and metrics to continue the journey of continuous improvement, which is to never stop learning, adapting and improving. The USRSB will work with stakeholders in the beef value chain to determine how metric data can be used in the future to further improve the quality of assessment through the LCA. It is essential for the USRSB to interface with other sustainability initiatives to avoid duplication of efforts and reporting, such as Field-to-Market for feed-related inputs and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy-Dairy Sustainability Alliance for dairy calves that enter the beef supply chain. The USRSB recognizes the necessity of animal identification for the U.S. beef cattle herd to measure success and improvements in sustainability and embraces a nationwide goal of animal identification for purposes of disease traceability, herd security, consumer confidence, quality improvement, international market access, and a means to participate in supply chain programs that can offer value-added benefits. The full Indicator and Metric Report, includes extensive details on the process, content development and supporting references. For more information or to become a member of the USRSB please visit www.usrsb.org. WWW.USRSB.ORG
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