In an Australian meat industry first, Queensland-based Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co. has become a 100% Carbon Neutral business. The company partnered with industry-leading consultants the ​Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI) to achieve this industry landmark.

This is a major environmental achievement. It applies to around 180,000 grass-fed certified organic livestock at approximately 120 farms across the country. Arcadian supplies Australia as well as export markets from the United States to Singapore.

The voluntary decision was based on Arcadian’s core business value of responsibility. The business aims to ‘treat animals well, treat people well and treat the land well.’ The company is best known for its industry-leadings brands ‘Cleavers Organic’ and ‘Borrowdale Free Range Pork.’

“This is a very big achievement. It means that everything Arcadian does is 100% carbon neutral – every product, every process” said founder and CEO, Alister Ferguson.

“We understand that our prosperity is tied to the land. We want to do everything we can to ensure the natural patterns that have produced our productive landscape remain as they have always been, keeping the country healthy and productive.

This made us look closely at our carbon footprint and how we manage it. The result was that we chose to make Arcadian’s entire business and all of our products carbon neutral. This was a major commitment for us, but it’s the right thing to do. Becoming carbon neutral is right ethically, and it’s right commercially.”

Arcadian officially achieved carbon neutral status on 14 June 2019 when it became a NoCO2 business under CRI’s NoCO2 programme. Every process and all products sold by Arcadian from this date are certified carbon neutral.

Arcadian has invested carefully in carbon offsets to compensate for the company’s carbon footprint. The Mytrah Wind Power Farm is removing large amounts of carbon emissions by generating clean electricity for the Indian Grid. This specific project was chosen because of its contribution to the community as well as its carbon credentials. The Mytrah project provides major benefits to surrounding villages by boosting access to education and clean water as well as providing employment opportunities.

Consumers seeking products that touch lightly on the environment can find Cleaver’s branded products in over 1,000 Australian supermarkets. A progressive rollout will see them all carrying a dedicated Carbon Neutral Logo granted by the Carbon Reduction Institute.

“Certified organic livestock production is essentially the same method that humans have used to farm animals for the last 10,000 years. That’s a sustainable industry. Becoming carbon neutral is Arcadian’s contribution to making it possible for another 10,000 years” said Alister Ferguson.