Dunbia Sustainability Appraisal Report

Dunbia Sustainability Appraisal Report
Student Name Institution COURSE XXX: Title of Course Instructor Name Month XX, 202X  Executive SummaryThe livestock industry is the most significant contributor to carbon emissions and environmental degradation. As a global meat producer, processor, and supplier, Dunbia is playing a significant part in an environmentally sensitive industry that drives the world towards climate change. However, the company recognizes this aspect of the business and has mitigation measures to enhance its current sustainable measures to ensure full social responsibility. The company has achieved its Zero waste to landfill 2025 sustainability target and is underway to reduce water and energy consumption and carbon emissions. The appraisal report looks at current studies focusing on the impact of meat processing on the environment and how Dunbia has applied different theoretical perspectives to ensure compliance to regulations and implement in-house sustainability best practices as part of the company's strategy. The appraisal recommends extensive research in reducing inputs in meat protein production and the public's engagement on the dangers of excessive meat consumption. Table of ContentsExecutive Summary 2Introduction 4Impact of Meat Production on the Environment 5Climate Change 5Deforestation 6Resource and Water Wastage 7Dunbia’s Sustainability Policy and Practices 7Theories of Sustainability 8Corporate Sustainability 9Green Economics 10Recommendation and Conclusion 11References 12Appendix 14
 Dunbia Sustainability Appraisal ReportDunbia was established in 1976 as Dungannon Meats Premium Butcher Shop in Moygashel, Nothern Ireland, by brothers Jim and Jack Dobson. Today, the company has over 5,200 employees throughout the UK and serves diverse markets in over 50 countries. As a global player, the company is involved with over 30,000 farm product suppliers from Ireland and Britain, with 12 processing facilities in the UK processing over 3,000,000 lamb and 1,000,000 cattle annually (Dunbia, 2021). The company has thrived by providing consistent quality meat products from sustainable sources. As a meat processing company, some of the keywords in the company's mission statement included 'naturally' and 'sustainable.' The two words indicate the company's commitment to environmental sustainability by embracing naturally produced food products. The company is a beneficiary of the increasing global meat consumption since 1960. However, as an essential protein source, meat production is also a significant threat to environmental sustainability. Meat production influences GHG emissions, water pollution, water footprint, and water scarcity (González, Marquès, Nadal, & Domingo, 2020). Therefore, as indicated in the mission statement, the company strives to engage different sustainability approaches to limit its carbon footprint while consistently providing quality products. The paper seeks to appraise the company's sustainability practices based on current theories and best practices. Impact of Meat Production on the Environment The United Nations' nexus of sustainable development revolves around food, energy, and water (Ritchie & Roser, 2020). With the expanding global population accompanied by increasing livelihood standards, the demand for the three elements has increased significantly. More importantly, the production of the three elements is interlinked. For instance, food production requires water and energy, while the traditional production of energy depends on water availability. Food production accounts for 26% of the global greenhouse emissions (Poore & Nemecek, 2018) and covers half of the global habitable land. Furthermore, 70% of the world's freshwater withdrawal goes to agriculture (FAO, 2011), while on the other hand, 78% of eutrophication of freshwater bodies and oceans is caused by agriculture (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Lastly, out of the 28,000 species threatened by extinction, IUCN Red List states that 24,000 are directly threatened by aquaculture and agriculture. Therefore, food production is at the heart of all the efforts to combat climate change and sustainability programs. As a meat producer and supplier, Dunbia has a significant responsibility in implementing sustainable practices. The livestock industry is a source of an extensive spectrum of environmental impacts ranging from climate change, deforestation, resource wastage, and contribution to water scarcity. Climate Change According to FAO estimates, 18% of the global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry (Steinfeld, Gerber, Wassenaar, & Castel, 2006), contributing 7516 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Goodland and Anhang (2009) argue that FAO used outdated sources and, therefore, the figure is 32,564 million tons and that the industry contributes 51% of the global greenhouse emissions annually. Dunbia's processing of 3,000,000 lamb and 1,000,000 cattle annually makes it a significant contributor regardless of the figures provided by different studies. Besides carbon dioxide, other gases produced by livestock include nitrous oxide, methane, and ammonia. The livestock industry is responsible for 68% of nitrous oxide emissions which remains in the atmosphere for over 150 years with a more significant threat to the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. 64% of ammonia in the atmosphere, which results in acid rain, also comes from the industry, producing up to 40% of methane emissions (Dopelt, Radon, & Davidovitch, 2019). A combination of the gases in the atmosphere is the primary cause of global warming, which is a significant contributor to climate change. Climate change is the greatest risk to health and wellbeing through an increase in extreme weather conditions (Costello et al., 2009). Deforestation Production of animal products requires extensive tracts of land. A common form of acquiring land for the livestock industry is deforestation which involves the clearing of vegetation. Currently, the livestock industry occupies a third of the global and two-thirds of the land dedicated to agriculture (Dopelt, Radon, & Davidovitch, 2019). Given the increasing demand for livestock products, the industry is the primary focus for clearing forest cover to provide pasture for animals. Moreover, an estimated 40% of the global crop production is utilized in feeding livestock, which can significantly help reduce global hunger. According to Ceballos et al. (2015), 137 species of animals and plants are lost daily due to mass deforestation and leading to the greatest mass extinction in 65 million years. On the other hand, some ecosystems like the arid and semi-arid lands are the most adapted to food production through the livestock industry, while rearing some crops like rice cause extensive environmental problems (Eshel, Shepon, Makov, & Milo, 2014). Resource and Water Wastage In the United States, animal agriculture consumes 55% of the total water consumption compared to a paltry 5% consumed by private residences (Dopelt, Radon, & Davidovitch, 2019). According to a study by Haines and Staley (Chai & van der Voort, 2019), a farm with 2500 milking cows wastes the same amount of water as 422,000 city residents. According to Sabate et al. (Sabaté, Sranacharoenpong, Harwatt, Wien, & Soret, 2014), the production of 1 kg of protein from beef requires ten times more water, ten times more pesticides, nine times more fuel, 18 times more land, and 12 times more fertilizer than the production of an equal amount from kidney beans. In essence, meat production places more significant pressure on the environment than the production of plant protein. Dunbia's Sustainability Policy and Practices Dunbia is aware of the environmental impacts of the industry discussed in the previous section. Notably, the company views effective environment and energy management as ab essential strategic requirements ranging from processing to retail. The company has implemented the ISO14001:2015 framework to minimize environmental footprint and risks of pollution incidences. The engineering team incorporates climate change adaptation measures that account for extreme weather conditions in the design process. As a result, the company intends to reduce water and energy consumption by 40%, carbon emissions by 50%, and achieve zero waste and landfill by 2025 (Figure 1, Appendix 1). The company has already achieved zero wasters to the landfill as of 2021. The company has several key objectives in its sustainability policy, including full com...