Partnership & Collaboration

Industry partners

Cargill is a founding member of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) . We support the GRSB definition of sustainable beef principles and criteria and are working to help translate that guidance to regional initiatives that adapt to local requirements. We also are helping lead efforts with the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) and U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRB).

We support the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA). Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) animal handling standards. You can learn more about our commitment to humane animal treatment on our Animal Welfare page.

 

Collaborating with customers

We partner with customers to improve the sustainability of beef production. Our work with McDonald’s in Canada is a good example. In 2014, McDonald’s committed to begin sourcing a portion of its beef from sustainable sources in 2016. Cargill participated as a core member of the McDonald’s Sustainable Beef Pilot project team, focusing on the beef supply chain from cows all the way through beef processing. With cooperation among organizations including the CRSB, the Canadian Cattle Association, Alberta Beef Producers and the World Wildlife Fund, the pilot project served as a foundation for the CRSB to build a Canadian beef sustainability framework.

Through our active membership in the CRSB and GRSB, we helped ensure alignment between the pilot project, the roundtables and Canadian industry stakeholders. This pilot project was the first to incorporate and validate the GRSB principles and criteria. Two Cargill facilities in Canada – Spruce Grove and High River – went through third-party verification using the sustainability indicators developed by the pilot project.

The pilot project provided an opportunity to share best practices for improving sustainability outcomes and help meet McDonald’s need for verified sustainable beef in the Canadian market. Now we are working on improving our ability to track and report traceability information and determining how to support our customers’ ability to make consumer-focused sustainability claims. The project helped to expand consumer trust in Canadian beef as a sustainable source of protein.

Creating end-to-end value 

Cargill’s certified sustainable beef initiative is an effort to implement the CRSB’s Certified Sustainable Beef Framework in our Canadian supply chain.

The initiative enables Cargill’s retail and foodservice customers to source beef from CRSB Certified farms and ranches and to market beef products to Canadians with a CRSB Certified logo and claim. The CRSB Certified program aims to increase consumer trust that the beef they buy for their families comes from responsible and sustainable beef producers across Canada, and to recognize the practices farmers and ranchers employ every day. Cargill’s implementation of the program has helped Canada become the first country to deliver beef that meets sustainability standards, establishing Canadian beef as synonymous with sustainability in the global market. 

Both of Cargill’s Canadian abattoirs – High River, AB and Guelph, ON – are certified to the CRSB’s Certified Sustainable Beef Processing Standard and Chain of Custody Requirements, meaning that any cattle processed at either of these facilities can qualify for a CRSB Claim if they meet all requirements prior to processing.  Producers wanting to learn more about how to make their cattle eligible for the CRSB Certified Framework can go to the CRSB website or contact any of the CRSB-approved certification bodies, a list of which can be found on the CRSB website.  

Cargill and our participating customers are grateful for beef ranchers’ and farmers' dedication to responsible practices, and we have chosen to recognize that effort financially in the form of Qualifying Cattle Credit Payments. These payments are issued monthly for all qualifying cattle processed in the prior period. Payments are provided to every certified operation that owned these qualifying animals as a thank you for the upfront investment made to demonstrate sustainable practices within Cargill’s supply chain according to standards set by the CRSB.

In addition to this ongoing Qualifying Cattle Credit Payment, Cargill and its supply chain partners also fund a Certification Recognition Credit. This incremental payment ensures all current CRSB Certified operations receive a minimum $400 CAD in total annual credit payments relative to Cargill’s annual implementation of the CRSB Certified program. The credit will only apply to those producers who have not already received at least $400 CAD in return for the Qualifying Cattle Credits. The credit will be paid to CRSB Certified operations regardless of whether their qualifying cattle were ultimately sold into Cargill.