SUSTAINABLE BEEF

WHO WE ARE

Provacuno

The Interprofessional Organisation of the Spanish Beef Sector represents almost all Spanish companies involved in beef production, elaboration and commercialisation.

Its objectives include:

  • Guaranteeing the efficient functioning of the beef sector value chain.
  • To promote good practices in relations between the different actors in the value chain.
  • Orienting beef production to meet market and consumer demands.
  • To improve the sector’s image through sustainable production methods and respect for the environment.
  • Promoting responsible consumption by highlighting the nutritional and health properties, high quality and food safety of beef.
  • Develop innovative processes to improve beef quality at all stages of the value chain.

Further information can be found at www.provacuno.es

Apaq-W

The Agence Wallonne pour la Promotion d’une Agriculture de Qualité (AWP) is a Belgian public administration agro-industrial organisation whose objective is to support farmers and breeders by establishing a specialised agricultural promotion and communication agency.

Its objectives include:

  • Developing a positive image of farming.
  • Promoting and valuing the work of farmers and breeders.
  • Highlighting the role of agriculture and agricultural products in sustainable development, as well as their social, cultural, economic, environmental, and health functions.
  • Supporting the creation of a network of markets that promote agricultural products.
  • Implementing educational initiatives and promoting knowledge within different social groups.

More information is available at www.apaqw.be

Sustainability in the European beef sector

Sustainability is not a new challenge for the European beef sector, but a mission that has been ongoing for years. Across the European Union and long before the European Green Deal, beef producers were already working to make their systems more efficient, responsible and resilient. Spain and Belgium are two clear examples of this sustained transformation, combining commitment, innovation and concrete measures to move towards more sustainable production in line with today’s environmental challenges. Want to know more?

In the case of Spain, and following the guidelines set out at the Paris Climate Summit (COP21) held in 2015, the Beef Beef sector took concrete measures to reduce emissions and improve its sustainability. Particularly, in 2019, Provacuno’s Board of Directors agreed to implement the 2050 Carbon Neutral Beef Strategy. A strategy that focuses on research, the adoption of good environmental practices, improved productivity and collaboration with the Spanish scientific community.

It is important to note that with this strategy, Provacuno anticipated both the subsequent approval in December 2020 of the European Green Deal (Green Deal), and the growing media attention on livestock emissions that arose that same year, which demonstrates the firm commitment of the Spanish beef sector to sustainability.

Since then, the Spanish beef sector has followed the strategic lines set out in Provacuno’s 2050 Carbon Neutral Beef Strategy, always with the collaboration of the scientific community. As a result of this cooperation and commitment, different tools and research projects have been developed, some of them still ongoing, such as:

Objective: To provide practical guidelines for reducing emissions and improving efficiency on beef farms, as well as improving the sustainability of the processing stage and encouraging the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in beef outlets. These three documents have been developed by the Remedia Network’s scientific community (a group of Spanish scientists specialised in climate change mitigation in the agricultural, livestock and forestry sectors) in collaboration with the technical community.

Objective: To contribute to the circular economy on farms by using manure and developing a proposal for the best available techniques for advanced agro-composting of cattle manure, with the aim of mitigating climate change.

Over the last two years, trials of agro-composting have been carried out, valuable information has been obtained and a report on the best available techniques for the advanced agro-composting of cattle manure has been developed.

Two workshops were held in May to present the results.

The supra-autonomic operational group, led by PROVACUNO, aims to optimise carbon sequestration in soils associated with beef cattle farms by analysing the current situation, identifying good practices, and developing a decision support tool.

The beneficiary entity comprises a total of eight members and two subcontracted companies (one providing technical coordination services and one providing research services).

Project duration: August 2024 to May 2027.

During the first period (ending in May 2025), the first two phases will be completed: Phase 1: Characterisation and typification of farms according to production systems, and

Phase 2: Harmonisation of the sampling protocol and its implementation on the farms.

More information can be found at: https://www.gosecuesvac.com/

This project is being financed by PROVACUNO using its own funds, and involves the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3). The project began in January 2025 and will last 20 months.

The project’s primary goal is to quantify the water footprint of beef cattle in Spain using various metrics.

The first two phases are currently underway: First phase: Collection of activity data. Second phase: Measurement of direct water use (i.e. the water needed on the farm).

Subsequently, the water footprint will be analysed and calculated, and the water scarcity data will be assessed.

The project’s main goal is to promote the adoption of innovative practices at various levels (individual animals, herds/farms, sectors, and regions) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming and enhance the sector’s ability to cope with the effects of climate change, thereby improving its overall resilience.

To this end, the consortium has brought together scientific excellence and technical expertise from across Europe and various disciplines to develop novel, science-based, integrated approaches targeting different livestock systems and geographical regions in the context of climate change.

Close collaboration with stakeholders and industry partners will ensure the relevance of innovations and maximise the uptake of best practice by co-designing their validation.

National case studies and stakeholder forums, together with a European multi-stakeholder platform, will enable the participatory co-design of transition pathways using unique food system models. Innovative pilot work will allow the testing and sharing of the latest solutions.

An ambitious communication strategy will extend the multi-actor approach to a wide range of stakeholders, creating a community of practice.

More info: https://re-livestock.eu/

In the case of Belgium, we also find a sector that is fully committed to increasingly sustainable production, capable of offering safe food with a minimum impact and the greatest possible benefit for the territory. Thus, in 2019, the Interprofessional Organisation of Belgian Farmers (Belbeef) launched the BelBeef Standard and the Sustainability Observatory.

For its part, the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (WARC) has a unit dedicated to sustainability that is developing different tools (DECiDE and PROBOV) to assess various sustainability indicators of agricultural production, including the production of beef and dairy farms.

The Belbeef Standard is a comprehensive certification system for Belgian beef, covering every stage of production (‘from farm to table’). It complies with all legal requirements in terms of food safety, traceability, and animal welfare, and meets the requirements of various purchasers.

Belbeef sets even stricter requirements than those stipulated by law. These requirements were not imposed on the industry, but are the result of cross-sectoral consultations. The Belbeef Standard is dynamic and evolves according to today’s and tomorrow’s social wishes.

Furthermore, Independent Certification Organisations (ICO), which are accredited by the Federal Government Accreditation Body (BELAC), strictly and regularly monitor the requirements set out in the standard at each stage of the production process.

More info: Le Standard Belbeef

This tool monitors sustainable progress in the beef sector and helps to raise awareness of the many sustainable practices already implemented by beef producers. It also provides producers with a list of possible sustainability initiatives they can implement on their farms, forming part of their journey towards greater sustainability.

The Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (WARC) has a dedicated sustainability unit developing various tools, such as DECiDE and PROBOV, to evaluate different sustainability indicators in agricultural production, including on beef and dairy farms.

Thanks to these projects, tools and initiatives, we can produce beef cattle safely and sustainably, while remaining committed to the territory and the Carbon Neutral 2050 objective.

This tool was developed by the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (WARC) to measure the carbon footprint of facilities and address their sustainability. It does this by calculating environmental, economic and social indicators in order to assess and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ammonia and energy consumption on farms. The tool aims to help producers identify sustainable strategies adapted to their particular circumstances.

More info: Walloon Agricultural Research Centre

This tool is an initiative of the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (WARC), developed in collaboration with the Walloon Institute for Evaluation, Forecasting and Statistics (IWEPS). This time, it focuses on anticipating different future scenarios for cattle farms in Wallonia by 2040. The aim is to help farmers make strategic decisions that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the regional cattle sector.

More info: Walloon Agricultural Research Centre

Sustainable European Beef (SEUB) programme

The Sustainable European Beef (SEUB) programme is a promotion plan co-financed by the European Union that will be carried out over the next three years (2025-2027) by the Spanish Interprofessional Agri-food Organisation for Beef and Veal (Provacuno) and the Belgian Agence Wallonne pour la Promotion d’Une Agriculture de Qualité (APAQ-W, Walloon Agency for the Promotion of Quality Agriculture).

With the slogan ‘For a sustainable Europe, beef’s special mission’, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of the European beef sector’s commitment to achieving the Carbon Neutral Target and improving sustainability, while informing the sector itself of the latest trends and developments available in the field of sustainability.

To achieve this objective, during the three years of the programme, a major effort will be made to inform the public, always on a scientific basis, about the sustainability of the European beef production model in general and, in particular, about the measures being taken by the sector to reduce emissions and improve and preserve soils. The programme will also promote and inform producers about the application of continuous improvement measures at all stages of the process to achieve the Carbon Neutral 2050 Objective and, in particular, those that lead to the reduction of emissions and the improvement and preservation of soils:

  • Climate change mitigation, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices, as well as maintaining existing carbon stores and enhancing carbon sequestration.
  • Prevention of soil degradation, restoration and improvement of soil fertility and management of soil nutrients and soil biota.