Bord Bía’s new carbon target for Irish beef
A report from the food body is aiming for Irish beef to become the most eco-friendly in Europe, providing the industry’s carbon footprint is cut by 10%.
The report was launched at Bord Bía’s Global Sustainability Forum in Dublin and summarises the three-year impact of the Origin Green initiative. Origin Green is an unprecedented programme, established in 2012, to help farmers and producers set and achieve goals to reduce carbon emissions in Ireland.
Bord Bía’s report outlines 800 sustainability targets for the country’s food and drinks industry. These targets underpin the board’s ambition to ensure Ireland’s food and farming is, and continues to be, a world leader in sustainable food and drink production.
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The wide-ranging programme has commitment from food and drinks manufacturers to hit sustainability targets in areas including "raw material sourcing, manufacturing and social sustainability". This could help the Irish beef industry generate up to €300m (£213m) on-farm income per year, according to the report.
One of the points set out in Origin Green is that all participating farmers will have their sites’ carbon footprint measured every 18 months.
Bord Bía chief executive Aidan Cotter, stressed: "No other country anywhere is carbon footprinting its farms on, what is, in effect, a national scale."
He added: "Greater levels of demand from a growing population represent a significant opportunity for Irish food and drink producers. However, we must remain cognisant of our responsibility to expand in a manner that will not lead to the long-term degradation of our natural resources."
