Source: Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is pleased to announce the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s founding council and membership as recipients of the 2019 Beef Industry Innovation & Sustainability Award (BIISA). The BIISA was presented to representatives of the CRSB in a special ceremony during the CCA’s annual general meeting in Ottawa.
Presented on behalf of the beef producers who operate Canada’s 60,000 beef operations, BIISA recognizes innovations that contribute to the competitiveness and sustainability of the Canadian beef industry. The CRSB founding council and membership were nominated for establishing transformational change in the Canadian beef industry through fostering collaboration between producers and a diverse and traditionally divisive stakeholder base to achieve common goals in support of sustainable beef production.
CCA Vice President Bob Lowe has been involved with the CRSB from the start, initially through his role as chair of the CCA Environment Committee. Lowe said the alignment of beef producers, food retailers, conservation groups and other value chain members in the development of the CRSB legitimized sustainable beef production in the public eye and underpinned producers’ social license to operate. “It also ensured producer priorities were included from the outset and reinforced later in the Certified Sustainable Beef Framework,” he said. Today, in part as a result of the CRSB, Canada is recognized as a world leader in sustainable beef production and for its ability to overcome barriers to achieve a greater good.
“The CRSB was able to build bridges to working relationships. For me, the relationships achieved with every new stakeholder, such as restaurants and conservation groups, is as good as it gets,” Lowe said. “In my mind, when we have large-scale retailers and well-respected organizations like the World Wildlife Fund US promoting Canadian beef as sustainable, there is no better way to build credibility and trust with consumers.”
CRSB chair Anne Wasko and Tim Hardman, Beef Director with World Wildlife Fund US, a founding member, received the award on behalf of CRSB’s founding council and membership.
About BIISA
The Beef Industry Innovation & Sustainability Award (BIISA) is presented on behalf of beef cattle producers by the CCA. BIISA publicly recognizes individuals, industry stakeholders and value chain members for their outstanding commitment to the sustainability of Canada’s beef industry through innovation. To learn more about BIISA, including how to apply, click here.
