BRISBANE, Australia – Billed as Australia’s oldest organic beef company marketing grass-fed beef for global export, OBE Organic has become the country’s first beef firm to join the UN Global Compact, the world’s biggest corporate sustainability association. As a producer-owned company, OBE officials say maintaining a sustainable supply chain is a priority for its farmers. Its commitment was demonstrated in 2015, when OBE agreed to identify the factors it would strive to maintain, including environment, animals, products and people. 

“We’re an organic company started by family farmers, so looking after the land, cattle and people has been in our DNA since day one,” said Dalene Wray, OBE’s managing director.

According to the company, “OBE Organic’s sustainability program goes beyond organic certification, and aims to manage risks and opportunities in a way that further reduces its impact and creates benefits along the supply chain.”

Its approach dovetails into promoting the UN Global Compact’s Sustainable Development Goals, which address diverse topics ranging from grazing practices to ethnic diversity to farm safety and animal welfare.

“Collaboration is especially important for us to continually improve our work, and we are always looking for businesses who want to partner with an organic beef supply chain that’s serious about sustainability to get in touch,” Wray said.