Despite wide agreement on the importance of healthy soil for carbon sequestration and how that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), speakers and attendees at the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s (GRSB) Global Conference last month in Denver repeatedly cautioned against a sort of carbon tunnel vision that has emerged in the sustainability realm.

In essence, there was a refreshed look at the role that animal welfare and responsible water use, among other cogs, play in the successful turning of the entire sustainability wheel. This, at the 10^th congregation of GRSB, whose organizers were readying to board planes to Egypt to attend the 27^th meeting of COP, carrying the beef industry’s flag.

Where there was renewed excitement ahead of that pilgrimage, though, greenhouse gas emissions sure enough would take center stage at COP, and with good (or bad) reason: Countries’ commitments to reduce GHGs not only have fallen short of Paris Agreement goals, but those countries also have curtailed their efforts to even phase down — let alone phase out — fossil fuels. The universal effort to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2025 is not looking so promising.

Something about an organization formed a decade ago now for the first time attending the U.N.’s climate summit that, on its 27^th annual gathering, still seems to be running into walls stoked a feeling or a question that arose in me while attending GRSB’s summit last month: Are we just spinning our sustainability wheels?

We'll get back to the question later. First, let’s say right off the bat that there’s at least a simple business case to make for a company adopting sustainable practices. Consumers are increasingly buying products they at least perceive to be derived from such practices; according to Chris DuBois of IRI, sustainability-marketed products captured 33% of CPG market growth in the last six years. And that’s a trend that is only going to accelerate in the next decade, especially as millennials come to dominate buying power. So, that may be reason enough to jump on board.

It could be, also, that companies’ ability to get financing from investors depends on commitments, targets and proven progress on metrics measuring their reduced environmental footprint. A business’s very ability to operate? Yeah, that’s another simple reason to ride along.

Of course, there’s supposed to be a higher purpose to all of this than the ability to sell products and make money, as much a part of the definition of “sustainability” as that is. Companies and organizations are supposed to share a cultural belief that the actions they are taking are going to improve this planet’s livability for future generations.

Having covered the meat industry for more than 15 years, I can say that it has come a long, long way in its sustainability initiatives. I’m convinced by now that some in the industry are true believers in those initiatives and, especially, in their role of helping feed a growing world population. However, I wonder how much wind comes out of their sails upon the most disappointing of outcomes of COP27.

And so, back to that question: Are we just spinning our sustainability wheels?

Are we up against a challenge that is not attainable, particularly given the political divides that exist across the globe? And if we are in a losing effort, what makes it worth it anyway?

How about you? Do YOU feel sustainability is important — or is it just lip service?

Around we go?

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