The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs has released its draft US-RSPE Sustainability Framework for chicken, turkey and egg supply chains for public comment.
The first public comment period for the US-RSPE Sustainability Framework runs for 45 days, from July 16—August 31, 2021. US-RSPE will make revisions and open a second public comment period for 30 days in the fall, from September 23—October 22, 2021, before public launch in early 2022. Submission instructions and reference documents are available at us-rspe.org/framework.
“We are opening our development process to everyone to engage and provide input to strengthen the Framework,” said Ryan Bennett, executive director of US-RSPE. “The most successful sustainability tools are created by both those implementing them and those impacted by them. We want to hear from you and make this a resource that truly works.”
This assessment will help equip the entire value chain to better assess and communicate with its stakeholders about the overall sustainability of U.S. poultry and create a clearer picture of how these products are produced.
“What we’re building here will be instantly useful,” said Lankford Ruffin, director of environmental affairs and sustainability for Butterball and current chair of US-RSPE. “People want to know how poultry and eggs reach their tables sustainably. With the US-RSPE Framework metrics, we will be able to answer the call to provide transparent reporting on the sustainable processes in place and build better plans to improve.”
US-RSPE members focused on creating a sustainability assessment that tackled the complexities of the poultry and egg sectors and the dynamics of the full supply chain. Diverse input was gathered to ensure the Framework would be effective and implementable, including the eight full supply chain assessments across three industries (chicken, turkey and eggs) completed earlier this year. The multi-stakeholder structure of US-RSPE members that built, reviewed and/or pilot tested the Framework include:
- Allied industries (Retailers/grocery stores
- Food service companies
- Breeders
- Hatcheries
- Feed manufacturers
- Farm operators
- Processors and further processors
- Renderers
- Integrators
- Non-government organizations (associations, environmental groups, etc.)
- animal health providers, equipment manufacturers, etc.)
In the final form, US-RSPE Framework will provide individualized reports to organizations who assess their sustainability through the Framework. The aggregated data of all users will also be anonymized and used to create a report on full supply chain sustainability. This data can then be used to guide innovation, drive improvements and support communication about the measured and verified sustainability of U.S. poultry and eggs.
“You’re seeing firsthand just how much this organization can do with focused passion, dedication and investments from our member organizations,” said Bennett, “And we’re only just beginning.”
