Cattle co puts carbon-neutral beef on the menu

The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo) has launched Five Founders, a carbon-neutral beef product officially accredited by Australian Government criteria.

Founded in 1877, NAPCo manages approximately 200,000 head of cattle across Queensland and the Northern Territory. NAPCo CEO Phil Cummins said the company’s decision to pursue carbon neutrality was based on meeting consumer demand.

“When we decided to launch our own branded beef product, we studied the market and quickly realised that people increasingly want produce that not only delivers the highest quality eating experience but respects their affinity for environmental and animal care,” he said.

“Consumers are more environmentally conscious than ever and this is especially the case among younger generations such as millennials, who want confidence they are buying sustainable products.

“NAPCo has always prioritised our animal welfare and environmental practices and embracing carbon neutrality has been a natural progression of this. NAPCo’s care for animals is also demonstrated in our ‘whole-of-life’ advantage as we breed and raise our own cattle, ensuring good health and full traceability within our supply chain.

“Creating such a groundbreaking beef product has been an eye-opening and incredibly rewarding experience for our staff.”

Cummins said the company engaged an independent national carbon and energy management consultancy to help guide its bid to produce what is claimed to be Australia’s first carbon-neutral beef.

“Pangolin and Integrity Ag Consultants were engaged to calculate our carbon footprint through a hybrid life-cycle assessment of our herd, which was then combined with estimation of energy-related emissions from the properties and feedlot,” he said.

“A range of improvements on our properties and in our herds has subsequently allowed us to reduce our footprint, including genetic improvements that allow our cattle to breed and be processed at a younger age and thus emit less methane.

“Having made these efforts to reduce our overall footprint, we then purchased carbon credits approved by the federal government to offset the remainder,” Cummins explained.

Cummins said NAPCo is also committed to conservation activities such as securing land for nature refuge programs and performing carbon sequestration trials. He explained that the company is looking to trial feed additives that will reduce the amount of methane emitted from its cattle.

“This is the beginning of our carbon journey, not the end, and we will be working to further reduce our footprint,” he said.

“NAPCo has prioritised animal welfare and environmental practices for almost 150 years and see[s] it as our duty to find innovative ways to tackle this global challenge.”

Five Founders will initially be sold in NAPCo’s current markets of Australia, China and Singapore before expansion to other markets.

Images courtesy of The North Australian Pastoral Company