“The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef is excited to announce that an impressive array of sustainability experts will offer their perspectives on how the global beef value chain can achieve sustainable outcomes,” said Cameron Bruett, president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) and head of corporate affairs for JBS USA, the North American subsidiary of JBS S.A., the world’s largest meat processing company.

Ricardo Sánchez López, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Sustainable Food Security, will keynote the opening session of GRSB’s Global Conference on Sustainable Beef, which will be held November 2-5 in São Paulo, Brazil.

“Mr. Sánchez’s experience, both in the public sector and in civil society, will provide great insight into the challenges of balancing the economic, environmental and social pillars of the global sustainable beef effort,” Bruett said.

Sánchez, has more than 15 years of experience in agricultural development issues, sustainable agriculture and public policy. Previous to his current position, he served as Colombia’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“GRSB is a global, multi-stakeholder organization focused on improving the sustainability of the beef value chain. We view sustainability as a journey of continuous improvement where the three pillars are balanced to achieve sustainable outcomes” said Bruett. “Mr. Sanchez will bring a unique vision of how to balance these three pillars based on his experience in Latin America.”

Also keynoting the opening session is Karin Kreider, Executive Director of the ISEAL Alliance, the global hub for social and environmental standards systems. ISEAL members are leaders in the field, committed to creating solid and credible standards systems.

“Although the GRSB does not intend to develop standards itself, many of its members are interested in the process of building consensus among stakeholders,” said Ruaraidh (Rory) Petre, GRSB’s Executive Director. “We need consensus on the processes and the means by which sustainability indicators are evaluated; without clear evidence of triple bottom line benefits, regardless of context, sustainable adaptations will remain open to question.”

The conference’s theme, “Sustainable Beef: Building a Vision for Our Future,” sets the framework for the roll-out of GRSB’s recently developed principles and criteria, which define sustainable beef and identify the means to measure progress in the global sustainable beef chain at the national or regional levels. With speakers from around the globe, the conference will also provide a forum for regional sustainability initiatives to showcase their efforts and successes.

Another keynote at the conclusion of the conference will be delivered by Francesca DeBiase, Vice President for Strategic Sourcing and Sustainability for McDonald’s Worldwide Supply Chain during which she will focus on why sustainability is so important to their business. DeBiase is a 23-year veteran of McDonald’s and leads a team of supply chain and sustainability professionals.

“We are pleased that we have Francesca as a part of the Global Conference,” said Dr. Roger Cady, Agenda Development Leader for the Conference as well as the Global Sustainability Lead for Elanco Animal Health. “Her vast experience and real-world knowledge of sustainability will add greatly to the discussion on the future of the GRSB.”

GTPS, the Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock, has arranged both pre- and post-conference tours of key areas of beef production in Brazil in both Mato Grosso do Sul and in Alta Floresta in the Amazon. Full details on the tour options are on the registration website.

Registration remains open for those interested in attending the Global Conference and it is strongly recommended that individuals begin the visa process as soon as possible if traveling from countries for which Brazil requires visas.

For more information and online registration, please visit www.GRSBeef.org.

Source: GRSB