Tuesday 7 March 2017

IFC and Carbon Trust agree to beef-up sustainability

A deal has been agreed to improve productivity and reduce emissions in Brazil's beef industry.

World Bank member IFC and sustainability experts Carbon Trust have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support a major pilot programme to transform the resource efficiency of the sector and its supply chain.

It is currently responsible for over 40% of Brazil’s national greenhouse gas emissions.

In the next five years, the programme aims to deliver almost $1 billion (£820m) in energy cost savings, reduce emissions by more than 16 million tonnes and recover 200,000 hectares of degraded pastureland.

The MoU could also see the groups collaborate to develop a simple and reliable approach for measuring climate impacts in IFC’s projects in the meat and dairy industries.

Alzbeta Klein, Co-Director of Global Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services at IFC said: "Rising population growth and per capita income are fuelling demand for protein, with growth in production and consumption shifting to emerging markets.

"Higher productivity and efficiency are critical to reducing the footprint of different sectors including beef and dairy. We look forward to benefitting from Carbon Trust’s track record in measuring and certifying the environmental footprint of companies' operations, supply chains and products."

Scientists aim to reduce the 90 million tonnes of methane cows produce each year by developing a new type of grass.

The food and agricultural industry could see opportunities worth $2.3 trillion (£1.88tn) each year by 2030 if they become more sustainable.