Cargill to analyze its impact on environment, economy, community

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  Cargill looks to develop a system to measure its impact on the environment, economy and community.

  From WATT AgNet:
  Cargill Cattle Feeders has entered into an agreement with accounting and consulting firm Kennedy and Coe to develop a system to measure its impact on the environment, economy and community. The analysis is an effort to improve the sustainability of Cargill’s feed yards in Texas, Kansas and Colorado.
  Analysts will collect data, then study and benchmark it. If the project goes as planned, it could eventually be expanded to include cattle production in collaboration with stocker operators, ranchers and Cargill’s strategic feed yard partners. Cargill beef customers also will be able to provide their sustainability criteria, resulting in a customized assessment report that gives them data to measure and document their organization’s supply chain sustainability progress.
  “As global demand for animal proteins to nourish people continues to rise in concert with increasing population and consumer income levels, it is important to improve the way we use resources to produce beef,” said John Keating, president of Cargill’s North American beef business. “As a leading beef producer, we believe it is critical to improve the way we manage resources, and we will develop a way to measure the effective use of inputs and outputs ranging from water and feed, to worker safety, manure management, air quality, energy use, land stewardship and animal welfare. We believe this is a step in the right direction that complements our overall focus on sustainable supply chains and will also benefit our customers.”
  “The goal of this project is to provide sustainability information that stakeholders find relevant across the supply chain, including suppliers, customers, NGOs, producer groups, trade associations and consumers,” Sara Harper, Kennedy and Coe’s director of sustainability and supply chain solutions, said in a statement. “Today, people have a desire to know how the food they eat is produced and where it comes from. Cargill is pioneering transparency and collaboration with its beef customers to share information important to consumers.”