TUCKER, GA. – In an effort to monitor, assess and share information about the status of sustainability in the US poultry and egg sectors, the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs (US-RSPE) has published a framework for reporting progress throughout the US supply chain to poultry industry stakeholders. Public comments on the just-released draft of the framework are initially being accepted from July 16 to Aug. 31, 2021, and after revisions, a second comment period will be accepted from Sept. 23 to Oct. 22. The program will then be publicly launched in early 2022.

According to the US-RSPE, the framework was developed with input from stakeholders involved in every aspect of poultry and egg production and processing, because the sustainability resources currently available are too generalized.

“There are several sustainability assessment resources available, but the poultry sector needed a reporting structure that tackled the complexities of the their organizations and full supply chains,” the US-RSPE said.

The goal of the framework is to increase transparency into production practices and its impact on the environment and people across the world. It incorporates the findings of eight supply-chain assessments focused on the chicken, turkey and egg sectors that were announced earlier this year.

“What we’re building here will be instantly useful,” said Lankford Ruffin, current chair of US-RSPE who also works as director of environmental affairs and sustainability for Butterball. “People want to know how poultry and eggs reach their tables sustainably. With the US-RSPE Framework metrics, we will be able to answer the call to provide transparent reporting on the sustainable processes in place and build better plans to improve.”