Award finalists demonstrate sustainability’s power in livestock
12 March 2024
The Australian red meat industry’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised with two renowned meat and livestock businesses listed as finalists at the 35th National Banksia Sustainability Awards.
The Banksia Awards is Australia’s longest running and most prestigious sustainability awards and this year attracted a record number of entries. Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is a proud sponsor.
For Jane Weatherley, General Manager - Communications and Adoption at MLA, the Banksia Awards highlight innovation within the Australian red meat industry.
“The Banksia Awards, on 4 April 2024 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, will showcase two impressive meat and livestock organisations, who have been shortlisted as finalists as part of the Agriculture and Regional Development Award,” Dr Weatherley said.
These are Argyle Foods Group, who is driving sustainability commitments across their vertically integrated supply chain and HW Greenham & Sons Pty Ltd, whose Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard is supporting producers to demonstrate their sustainability credentials to market.
Argyle Foods Group is an Australian farmer-owned agricultural company focused on producing sustainable land, cattle and beef. Through their Argyle Carbon program, they found a way to implement sustainable projects across their operations to mitigate the climate impacts of their business.
For Lachlan Graham, Founder and Co-CEO at Argyle Foods Group, the focus on Argyle Carbon came following a recognised need to do better with the land they were managing.
“Following the most recent drought, Argyle aimed to create genuine environmental improvement across the land we operate to help mitigate the intensifying changing climate impacts on the land, livestock and the business,” Mr Graham said.
“Alongside our partners, Argyle has forged the way to implement sustainable projects across our operations including registering a soil carbon sequestration project to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units.
“We have also supported the development of renewable energy through a wind farm lease holding, implemented regenerative agricultural practices across our cattle herd and registered biodiversity sites to support greater ecological health.
“All in all, we create the tastiest beef that’s also sustainable, which is a win-win for the consumer and the producer. We are now working with our supplier network to implement similar environmentally positive projects across our supply chain”.
For Peter Greenham, Managing Director at HW Greenham & Sons, their Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard has made it easier for producers to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.
“In partnership with cattle suppliers and our valued key customers, Greenham developed its Beef Sustainability Standard to address a growing demand from customers for robust environmental credentials,” Mr Greenham said.
“To ensure alignment with broader industry goals, the standard was built around the four themes identified in the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF): animal welfare, economic resilience, environmental stewardship, and people & the community.”
“This standard ultimately provides confidence that farms on which Greenham’s trusted beef brands are produced will have a positive impact on the land and rural communities for generations to come.
