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Executive Director's Message:

I would like to start this week by recognising the contributions that member organisations make to GRSB - both in our working groups and, of course, financially.

There has never been a more important time for the beef industry to come together and address sustainability challenges with one voice, and I feel that this year, despite its many extraordinary challenges, has really proven that our members are capable and willing to do just that.

Most of you are aware by now of our Global Beef Sustainability Acceleration Fund, launched to bring in the funds required to meet the ambitious objectives in our Strategic Plan. As you can see on the website, several members including McDonald's, Cargill, WWF and CCA have already made financial commitments, and there are opportunities to join them at five different levels of contribution.

We recognise that this has been a tough year for many, and feel that the challenges we have all faced underscore the importance of working together to keep sustainable beef the trusted part of a thriving food system that it always has been.

There are, of course, other ways in which members can contribute and I would be remiss not to mention that both NWF and Earth Innovation Institute have also supported us financially with funding tied to specific sustainability actions, including generous support to provide simultaneous translation of our webinars and meetings.

Of course, we would be nowhere without the dedication of time to our working groups, councils, board and executive committee. I am conscious of just how much time those meetings take up for some of our members. I am extremely grateful, particularly given the time zone differences that mean some of you are frequently on calls late at night or very early in the morning.

While on this topic, I would like to thank Gurneesh Bhandal at Cargill, who in addition to being a board member, has ably led our Communications Council through the selection and induction of MHP. She has been very dedicated to this task and devoted a significant amount of time to it.

Gurneesh is making a transition to a new role in which she will be leading sustainability in Cargill's Sweeteners, Starches & Texturizers business. Congratulations! We will miss her input and are grateful for all she has done.

We welcome Ben Brophy from Cargill as the new representative on the board. The executive committee and communications council will work to find a new leader for the council this week.

Meanwhile, Ian McConnel, well known to everyone involved in GRSB as both our treasurer and leader of the Goals development work, is also moving jobs. Very fortunately for us, he is staying in the world of sustainable beef while moving from WWF to Tyson, where he will be Director, Sustainable Beef, and will continue to be based in Brisbane Australia.

We thank Ian for his willingness to continue the great work he has been doing for us for several years, and both WWF and Tyson for generously allowing him to dedicate time to GRSB.

Thanks,

Ruaraidh Petre
Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Executive Director
September 8, 2020

We have put out a survey to gauge your participation in and reaction to the webinar series. We’d love to hear your feedback to ensure that we are keeping these relevant to your needs and informing you on the issues that are most important to you. We’d also welcome your suggestions for future discussion topics.

The development of our goals is proceeding apace, with the Land Conversion, Animal Health and Welfare and GHG groups all working to develop draft high level goals. The first drafts of the high level language will be produced in the next two weeks, and we will then go through the process of consultation, discussion, feedback and refinement with the Consensus Building Institute. 

I hope that many of you were able to join  “We Have the Technology” Webinar. If not, you can view the video by using the password grsbeef2020 to access it. 

Please note: You must register for each event separately. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting or webinar. 

Our next webinar will be on “Traceability for Sustainability”.

Traceability plays an important role in many aspects of sustainability, first and foremost in terms of sanitary control, as well as management support for greater efficiency.

It is also central to tracking cattle movements, and therefore very significant in terms of demonstrating where cattle have been raised, and whether they have been on recently converted land. The webinar will be moderated by Scott Stuart, and the panelists are:

• Simon Hall – NWF 
• Taciano Custodio- Minerva 
• Justin Courtney – Silver Fern Farms
• Ken Griner-Usher Land & Timber, Inc. .
• Lewis Frost – Ceres Tag
• Andy Dorn –  Allflex 

Watch for registration details coming soon. 

Please see a summary of all meetings, calls and webinars on our event calendar in the member area of the website.

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