Following a successful US release last year, Silver Fern Farms’ Net Carbon Zero Toitū certified products are now rolling out across New Zealand and feature a world-first carbon label on a red meat product.

A selection of the company’s existing retail beef and lamb products are becoming ‘Net Carbon Zero’, meaning that Silver Fern Farms has measured the product emissions across the full product life cycle, developed an emissions reduction plan, and 100 percent of product emissions have been balanced out by verified carbon removals via trees growing on the farms where the animals were raised. 

Silver Fern Farms has achieved Toitū net carbonzero product certification from Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading certification body, Toitū Envirocare. 

The certification requires organisations to demonstrate they’ve measured their greenhouse gas emissions to ISO 14067, which is the global framework for measuring and reporting product carbon footprints, ensuring consistent and comparable results across the board.

Beyond measurement, Silver Fern Farms was required to demonstrate a tangible emissions reduction plan was in place and conduct on-site farm audits to grasp the nuances of carbon sequestration at the grassroots level. This hands-on approach ensures they have real, actionable data to inform their carbon removals when contracting and purchasing carbon removals from supplying farmers. 

Silver Fern Farms Chief Executive Simon Limmer says Net Carbon Zero products help link discerning consumers and farmers together in a way that supports nature-positive food production.  

“When shoppers buy our Net Carbon Zero products, they’re actually incentivising our farmers for their efforts to create farm environments that are better able to capture carbon, increase biodiversity, and support nature-positive food production,” says Limmer.  

“We know that the attributes of our pastoral-based farming system resonate with consumers globally. Products like Net Carbon Zero help to create new forms of value for our farmers and position them as climate innovators,” he says.  

For the first time full carbon labels are displayed on-pack, on the front the total carbon footprint of the product is stated along with the removals required, and the back gives shoppers a full breakdown of that footprint by emissions sources.    

Chief Sustainability & Risk Officer Kate Beddoe says the company has worked closely with Toitū Envirocare to ensure that the labelling meets global best practice, and accounts for all emissions from when the animal is born to when cooking takes place and packaging is disposed of at home.

“Accurate and independent carbon-labelling is a transparent tool which will help to build trust with consumers and reinforce the benefits of our pastoral-based farming system,” she says.  

“We know that there is increasing global scrutiny of carbon claims, and some consumers are confused around about what certain claims mean. That’s why our Net Carbon Zero product is independently certified by Toitū Envirocare, based on the very highest international standards.  

“What’s unique about Net Carbon Zero and our farming system is that this is achieved by what our farmers do on their own farms to balance-out emissions, rather than by simply purchasing carbon offsets as is the case for other products,” she says.

Beddoe says Silver Fern Farms is also taking steps to reduce gross emissions across their whole supply chain 

“We have committed to a 1.5 degree science-aligned reduction target to reduce our combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2020 base year, and we will set a Scope 3 target by the end of the year,” says Beddoe.  

“We’re also one of the partners in AgriZero, the Government and agribusiness joint venture which is investing in methane reduction technology. Agrizero means the agribusiness sector now has real skin-in-the-game for methane reduction technology and can help accelerate solutions into the hands of our farmers,” she says.   

Belinda Mathers, Chief Science & Advisory Officer at Toitū Envirocare commented, "In taking the step of displaying full carbon labels on packaging, Silver Fern Farms is not just marking an industry milestone, but also championing transparency and consumer empowerment in New Zealand.

“Leveraging ISO 14067 as our guiding framework ensures that the numbers presented to consumers are consistent, credible, and globally recognised. We believe that by providing a clear breakdown of emissions sources, they’re not only educating our consumers but also setting a new benchmark for sustainability and accountability in the red meat industry," she says.

Find out more about Net Carbon Zero and how it is certified here.

ENDS

Contact

Bill de la Mare
Head of External Affairs
Silver Fern Farms
021 924 331