Minerva Foods, the leading beef exporter in South America, together with the Institute of Forest and Agricultural Management and Certification (Imaflora), a Brazilian non-governmental organization, which works to promote social and environmental transformations in the forestry and agricultural sectors, announced their partnership in Imaflora's new program Carbon On Track, for measuring the carbon balance of farms in South America.
Minerva Foods is the first partner from the livestock sector to engage with Carbon On Track. Minerva Foods selected 25 supply farms in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to participate in a pilot project totaling more than 232,000 head of cattle and 185,000 hectares of pasture, and encompassing five different biomes: Amazon, Pantanal, Cerrado, Pampas, and Chaco.
Preliminary results revealed that the participating farms are emitting 44 percent less greenhouse gases compared to the world average for emissions in beef production, estimated at 19.9 tCO2e per ton of beef produced (based on comparisons of 30 different scientific articles). Initial reports of the study were released Friday at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, held by the United Nations.
Carbon On Track is the first carbon balance project that will collect primary data, which can then be accessed through a digital communication platform, facilitating access to information and ensuring transparency of the entire analysis. The balance calculations were performed using globally recognized methodologies and guidelines proposed by the IPCC 2019 and are consistent with the GHG Protocol methodology. The goal is to demonstrate that the application of good agricultural practices can effectively reduce the amount of GHG emissions being released into the atmosphere.
Reports will be made available on the digital platform, organized by sector dashboards that will feature the data collected, strengthening initiatives that are being undertaken in the sector. Personalized control panels will be developed for partner companies, which will store the results of the balance sheets, as well as information regarding the monitoring of suppliers, environmental performance history, forest restoration projects, and initiatives to encourage low carbon livestock farming.
"Carbon on Track fits perfectly with Minerva Foods' efforts to take measures that will lead the chain to more sustainable, low-carbon livestock farming,” said Taciano Custódio, director of sustainability at Minerva Foods, in a statement.
Related: Hundreds of Brands Become Carbon Neutral Certified; Knorr to Launch 50 Regenerative Agriculture Projects.