Red Meat Advisory Council Sustainability of animals and … · 2019-06-04 · Animal welfare • Animal welfare best practice all industry sectors – on farm, live exports, transport,

Red Meat Advisory Council

Sustainability of animals and environment workshop

Conversation Tracker: Sustainability of Livestock and Environment Workshop | RMAC | Primary Purpose | ThinkPlace 3 June, 2019 2

About this documentThe purpose of this document is to capture the conversations and activities that took place during the co-design workshop held on 22 May 2019. Please note this document does not capture the conversation verbatim, rather it presents a snapshot of key discussion points and activities.

BackgroundThe Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) ran a workshop on 22 May 2019 with 35 stakeholders from the red meat industry. The workshop was run in Canberra over a whole day and is part of a series of workshops that are building towards the creation of the Meat Industry Strategic Plan (MISP) 2030. The day was focused on exploring the topic ‘sustainability of animals and the environment’ in the red meat industry over the period between 2020-30. For example, what will the future look like? What kind of future do we want? How do we prepare the industry for change?This document is a record of the flow of the day and the general conversations that happened. It contains photos and a high-level summary of what was discussed.This document does not contain any finalised detail of the outputs created. Outputs from this and following workshops will feed into the ongoing process of creating MISP 2030. MISP 2030 strategy is due for release in October 2019.


Agenda


WelcomeWhere are we now?Over the past few months, we have been in the listening phase, understanding the current state and hearing what is going on, collecting what is already out there.

Today we are going to be creating part of our future, where do we want to be in 2030? We have broken up this phase of the process into three: 1. Sustainability of our People 2. Animals and environment (today)3. Markets and consumers

This workshop is really about setting up the goal posts for where we want to be.

Our next phase (starting 25th of June) is all about implementation. We will be looking at what we have set up in these first three futuring workshops and how we will actually implement the ideas. What are the practical next steps?

We will then take our emerging strategy to six regional locations across Australia to test our thinking on people in the frontline of industry, before MISP 2030 is finalised by October 2019.


A different approach The reality when you take a collaborative design approach is that it’s messy, and we are currently in the messy part of the squiggle. This part of the process can feel uncomfortable, but that's okay! We are wanting people to think outside the box and challenge the status quo. We are heavily focused on the human aspect, and part of the process is being creative.


A different approachCo-design is…• A systemic approach to bringing people’s perspectives

into the design process.• A search for stated and unstated needs, to create value.• Development of possible solutions based on insights.• Involvement of people affected before, during and after

the project.• A process to speed up the development cycle

(generating and evaluating alternatives).• Disciplined but flexible approaches which ensure

intended outcomes are delivered.

Co-design is not…• Asking people what they want.• Giving people what they want.• Expecting people to provide the solution.• Consultation once a design has been defined.• Validation of a pre-determined design solution.• A box ticking process.


What will MISP 2030 deliver?This workshop formed some goals that we will work towards for the upcoming workshops.

MISP 2030 will deliver:A vision for the future that is inspirational and sets ambition.

Practical action and partnerships to deliver and implement.

A strategy tested with everyday industry people, to make sure it is relevant at a grassroots level.

A portfolio of initiatives and projects with potential to create systemic change.

Collaboration across the industry supply chain which shares knowledge.

Clarity of roles in who will implement which parts of the strategy.


Reviewing the current state Before starting the workshop, participants explored the current state. Participants reviewed some of the insights generated through the project team’s review of existing materials and conversations with stakeholders to date. Participants added insights which were missing and any thoughts they had regarding the current state.


Reviewing the current state Participants reviewed the high-level insights generated from the project team’s initial conversations with RMAC’s key stakeholders and added their own insights. Some of the comments included:

Understanding the issues to be addressed in MISP 2030• We are doing some great stuff but is this being communicated effectively?• Introduce the industry to young people early and in a positive light• Working with rather than against non-industry partners• Celebrate those leading the charge and positive changes being made• Sustainability is more than just social license – embrace it• Biosecurity needs to be addressed as a key risk

Animal welfare• Animal welfare best practice all industry sectors – on farm, live exports,

transport, processing• Live export experience should be used as a driver for other sectors to get

ahead of the curve• Activism means lack of trust• Consistency across all sectors and regulations and expectations

Environmental stewardship• We need to build resilience into our land• Climate change also presents opportunities for improvement in production• Need for metrics to demonstrate premium products and gain access to markets• Farmers are custodians of biodiversity – needs to be communicated


Australian Beef Sustainability Framework –Q&A with Anna Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Red Meat Advisory Council

Currently this is only focused on beef, will this translate to other red meat?There are plans to take this to a sheep meat sustainability framework where the scoping work has started. There will be a similar process followed as a lot of the sustainability concerns are shared across areas.

Anything else to consider before we get into the day?This highlights where we are now, and we want to talk about where we go beyond that. The 2019 Annual Sustainability Update will be released by 6 June.

Can you share with the group what is the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework?The Framework was developed through extensive stakeholder engagement to define sustainable beef production and provide transparent measures and information on areas of stakeholder interest.

Some stats around the industry: • Reduced emissions by 56% from 2005 to 2016 and we want to be

carbon neutral by 2030• Increased use of pain relief • We have reduced water usage by 65% from 1981 to 2010

What was the driving force behind investing in this?We want to understand our customers better and share our story. We want our industry to be economically resilient. We want to see great things like people being safe, animals being treated well, and our environmental stewardship continually improving.

Can you highlight some of the key measures in the ABSF?The framework is focused on four areas; animal welfare, economical resilience, environmental stewardship, and people and community. In this year’s annual update we will see explanation on our carbon neutral plan, safety and wellbeing initiatives for people living rurally, and a deep dive into animal husbandry and how we can do better.


We are an innovative industryWhat are some of the great innovations that you know about in your industry today? Tables shared amongst themselves what innovations are already happening across their industry, organization, and/or personally. Teams then selected and shared their top three innovations with the room. Some of the innovations shared are listed below.

• Traceability • Pain relief • Technology to give early detection • Vaccines • Biogas power • Genetics/genomics • NLIS – Auto data monitoring • Electronic systems tracking • Blade stop • Eating quality measurement• Use of by products to reduce impacts/waste • Renewable energy adoption (recycling water, accounting for carbon &

environmental contributions)• Livestock data link • Remote sensing – ground cover • Remote tools – water paints, walk over weigh • Splitting the C02 from the co-benefit• Dehumidisation• Poll gene testing

What are some of the behaviours that enable these innovations?After tables decided on their top three innovations, they then discussed what they thought the key behaviours of these innovations were. Once teams decided on the innovation behaviours they then shared with the room. Some of the behaviours shared are listed below.

• Consumer drivers• Trade and market access • Biosecurity • Welfare (sustainability transparency)• Productivity • Risk mitigation• Collaboration (animal welfare) – facilitate provision of evidence • Partnerships (environmental and agriculture) – mutual outcomes and

benefits• Willingness to learn • Accepting responsibility • Mentoring • Learning • Health and safety


Getting the big picture of our current stateTables discussed what they found while exploring the current state earlier in the day. They then thought about what their top three issues from the current state were. Some of the main topic areas discussed are listed below.

Current state key topics• Community trust: transparency in environment and welfare, education.• Climate change: impacts on supply chain, perception of industry impact,

environmental impacts of supply chain (energy use, transport).• Environmental impact: land use, water use, “one health” perspectives

(eco human animal health).• Social license: welfare and environment, being open to community

views, producers’ role in the ecosystem.• Accept and reward best practice: calling out positive behaviours.• Human resources: suitable human resources, succession planning.• Disconnect between consumers and producers: increase transparency

of industry story, education of agriculture.• Effective communication between red meat businesses and

consumers: realities and perceptions of animal welfare, community activism, animal rights vs animal welfare.

• Cost of doing business throughout the supply chain: on-farm husbandry, cost to operate.

• Biosecurity: how to close the gap, and increasing awareness.• Missing: What is value proposition? What’s our overarching point? The

splintering of industry, no unified approaches, not a lot of talk about on-farm welfare of animals.


Possible futuresWhat the future could look likeTo force the groups to look well beyond today, we went through a set of activities designed to encourage truly divergent thinking. The first of these activities revolved around creating a narrative of what could happen in the industry in the future.

Looking out to 2070Groups were asked to look far beyond today and even beyond the life of the strategy, to consider and identify possible futures that more traditional processes may not identify.

Newspaper Headline 2040Each group was asked to come up with a Newspaper headline in 2040 which identifies their key factors at a national level that contribute to their future. During this activity groups brought their possible 2070 future to a more tangible timeframe and to identify what enabling factors have helped create a path to their future success.


Possible futuresWhat the future could look likeAfter the narrative exercises, the groups thought about what the key elements to enable change were. They extracted and mapped these key elements along their timelines to get to the futures they had created in the previous activities.

Map key enablers and achievementsGroups were asked to sort the enabling factors along the timeline between 2020-2070 (but particularly from 2020-2030). They were then asked how these impact across the relevant supply chain participants. Groups considered how the identified enabling factors link together and contribute to a vision for the possible future of the industry. These enabling factors also help us identify synergies across possible futures.

Key shifts and initiativesGroups were then asked to reflect on their timeline and identify the three key strategic shifts and initiatives needed to enable their possible future. This started to get the groups to synthesise their thoughts and ideas, raising them to a level that would identify connections and synergies across disparate possible futures.


Possible futuresCritique marketplaceAfter teams decided on their key elements and key shifts, two people from each group stayed with their timeline to talk others through, telling a story of the future that they have created. The rest of the group members moved across the room to look at other teams’ timelines and provide some feedback.

Blink feedbackOn a post it note, participants wrote at least one of three forms of feedback:1. What they like and why2. What they might have questions about/feeling unsure about 3. Something that they don’t like, and why

Refinement from feedback Groups then went back to their timelines and looked at their feedback, they were then given 5 mins to make any further refinements based on the feedback received.


How are we feeling?

Pleased

Intrigued

Impressed

Happy

Productive

Informed

Ambitious

CuriousEncouraged

Interested

Faithful

Inspired anticipation

Bamboozled

AmbivalentChallenged

Hopeful

Optimistic

Collaborative

Provoked

At the end of the day, each participant was asked to share one word about how they were feeling.

Positive


Next steps

Synthesis of the futures created today

One more upcoming workshop on the 6th of June around markets and consumers

Toowoomba workshops on the 25th 26th and 27th of June will look at how we action what we have come up with in these workshops

Looking for guides to show us around regional areas of Australia

Strategy launch in October

Documents

Red Meat Advisory Council Sustainability of animals and … · 2019-06-04 · Animal welfare • Animal welfare best practice all industry sectors – on farm, live exports, transport,