E.SUS.0014 - Metric and data stocktake to support the Australian Beef and Sheep Sustainability Framework

Summary

The Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF), first released in 2017, and the Sheep Sustainability Framework (SSF), released in 2021, (collectively referred to as the Frameworks) are designed to account for issues of importance to stakeholders within and external to the Australian beef and sheep industries. In doing so the Frameworks aim to reduce risk and leverage opportunities for the beef and sheep industry.

The Frameworks, both supported by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), seek to measure and promote sustainability across the value chain. The effectiveness of the Frameworks relies on their ability to report on its indicators reliably and accurately and are therefore dependent on the quality of its data sources and the management of data risk.

Objectives

The project's objective was to undertake a data stocktake to ensure the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) and the Sheep Sustainability Framework (SSF) are reporting with the most robust and relevant data sources.

Key findings

The project identified the sources of risk in the current data suite, using an agreed framework. Based upon this, a data stocktake was undertaken to identify alternative and additional data sources for the short and long term.

Benefits to industry

Its findings can be used by MLA to benefit the industry by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Frameworks, in the short and long-term, and by informing decisions and planning to account for data risk, use additional data sources, and consider adjustment of indicators.

MLA action

The ABSF and SSF will utilise findings from this project to strengthen the data sources that they utilise in their reporting.

Future research

There were seven recommendations for this project:
1. Mitigating reliability risk in the short term by corroborating between multiple sources
2. Mitigating longevity risk by collecting important indicator data
3. Mitigating timeliness and effort risk by slowing reporting cadence to match key data sources
4. Mitigating credibility and compliance risk by publishing methodologies and findings and having them accredited and audited where possible
5. Staying on top of developments in the environmental sustainability landscape
6. Adopting common standards for metadata and reporting as they become available
7. Facilitating the investment and utilisation of supply-chain integrated data.