Cow/Calf
Cattle producers’ management decisions and activities can directly impact the health of pastures and rangelands on which the cattle graze, which affects their ability to maintain vast carbon stocks, potentially capture and store additional carbon and deliver co-benefits for water resources, wildlife and forage production.
What is the existing metric?
- Has a grazing management plan (or equivalent) been implemented that protects or improves soil and plant community health, including soil carbon sequestration?
What is the sector target?
- 385 million acres covered by a written grazing management plan by 2050.
Feedyard
The implementation of emerging technologies (e.g., feed additives) and management practices can lower the resource consumption and GHG emissions from cattle feeding.
What is the existing metric?
- Are strategies in place to manage air and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?
What is the sector target?
- The feedyard sector will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% per pound of beef by 2030.
Packer & Processor
The implementation of emerging technologies (e.g., feed additives) and management practices can lower the resource consumption and GHG emissions from cattle feeding.
What is the existing metric?
- Level 1
- Are strategies in place to optimize energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions at company facility(ies)?
- Level 2
- What is the company’s carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) per head or CO2e per mass of finished product?
- Level 3
- Does the company make CO2e publicly available?
- Does the company track air and GHG emissions over time and set goals for continued improvement?
- Does the company participate in partnerships, initiatives or programs to further GHG reduction and improve air quality?
What is the sector target?
- 90% of beef processed in the U.S. comes from companies with a GHG reduction strategy, are reporting against that strategy by 2025 and are delivering on their GHG reduction goal by 2030.
- By 2030, all beef packers and processors will be taking tangible action to achieve an approved science-based target to reduce emissions in line with limiting global temperature increases to well below 2 or, ideally, 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels.
Retail & Foodservice
Retailers and foodservice providers can identify GHG emissions in their own operations, particularly from energy use, water use, coolant leakage and food waste and find cost-effective means to reduce these GHG emissions
What are the existing metrics?
- Level 1
- Has the company assessed its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions?
- Level 2
- Does the company have a plan to reduce its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions?
- Has the company assessed the scope 3 GHG emissions of its beef value chain?
- Does the company engage suppliers and encourage adoption of USRSB air and GHG metrics in its beef value chain?
- Level 3
- Is the company participating in a credible external system reporting for GHG emissions?
- Has the company set credible GHG emissions targets?
- Can the company demonstrate progress towards these targets?
What are the sector targets?
- All USRSB member retail and foodservice companies have set credible GHG reduction goals to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2023;
- All USRSB member retail and foodservice companies have set credible GHG reduction goals for their company to reduce scope 3 emissions and are publicly reporting progress by 2030; and
- All USRSB member retail and foodservice companies have a strategic plan in place by 2030 with concrete steps to achieve climate neutrality for the beef value chain by 2040 for scopes 1, 2 and 3.
