Taking a stride towards addressing the global climate crisis, New Zealand’s grass-fed meat producer Silver Fern Farms is pioneering an environment-friendly initiative — Net Carbon Zero by Nature. This cooperative venture involves a nationwide network of 16,000 farming partners striving to produce carbon-neutral meat through scalable, technology-infused solutions.

The essence of the Net Carbon Zero project lies in curbing emissions throughout the supply chain. In the words of Kate Beddoe, Chief Sustainability Officer of Silver Fern Farms, considerable efforts have gone into understanding farming systems in collaboration with their partners.

The program enlisted 74 diverse vegetation forms capable of effective carbon sequestration, achieved through alliances with Lynker Analytics and Carbon Forest Services. Both companies bring critical expertise – satellite mapping and AI skills from Lynker Analytics and proficiency in forestry and carbon reabsorption rates from Carbon Forest Services.

Beddoe highlights this initiative’s successful implementation, revealing that farm vegetation has naturally captured 100% of the emissions in their program, thereby enriching landscapes with deeper biodiversity and resilience.

Capitalizing on their findings, Silver Fern Farms advises associated pilot program farms on optimum land management practices in tune with carbon sequestration and biodiversity. Beddoe disclosed the participation of over 1,500 farmers in their ‘Know Your Number’ workshops to gain insights on farm emissions.

Key to the Net Carbon Zero Initiative is their partnership with Māori communities. Aligning their operations with Māori values like manaakitanga (Always Caring), kotahitanga (Unstoppable Together), and kaitiakitanga (Improving Tomorrow) is essential, emphasizes Beddoe. “Incorporating Mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge] into our practices with the local people’s expertise enhances our nature-positive production,” Beddoe shares.

Silver Fern Farms has teamed up with Toitū Envirocare, an independent certification agency, to ensure program credibility. Verification of their Net Carbon Zero claims stands on the British Standards Institute measure PAS2050, and they have also secured labeling approval for these claims from the USDA.

With a process firmly rooted in transparency and sustainable practices, Silver Fern Farms issued its inaugural Risk and Opportunities Disclosure on the climate crisis. This proclamation aligns partner farms with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, revealing financial risks and opportunities linked to climate change.

Beddoe enthusiastically speaks about the potential of new strategies and technological advancements to augment Silver Fern Farms‘ sustainability endeavors. Climate innovation forms a central plank of their Sustainability Action Plan, driving ambitious initiatives to reduce emissions and position Silver Fern Farms as a foremost player in sustainable food production.

A hopeful Beddoe concludes, “We see immense value in building trust that can be traced back to New Zealand, thus creating goodness from the farms the world needs.”