Grupo Éxito, in alliance with WWF Colombia and the UK government, has announced the project that seeks to continually preserve ecosystems, protect biodiversity and enhance practices on livestock farms in order to improve meat production with environmental protection factors.
The project called “Sustainable Consumption and Livestock: The Conservation and Biodiversity Alliance” will be under the UK Charter programme, part of the UK Government, through which technical assistance will be provided to develop actions and strategies aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
This project is an opportunity for Colombia’s retail sector to further its commitments to the environment, as well as the economic development of the country.
Carlos Mario Giraldo, President of Grupo Éxito, noted the importance of maintaining a sustainable livestock model.
“We are proud to be part of this alliance that advances Grupo Éxito’s sustainable livestock model. In recent years, we have worked with 100% of our direct suppliers of live livestock through outreach and joint action on ecosystem conservation, meat quality, and animal welfare and contribute to the country’s economic, social and environmental development.”
One of the main goals of this consortium is to generate actions to conserve biodiversity, and thus maintain sustainable livestock operations. For this purpose, it is proposed to enhance the technical knowledge of Grupo Éxito’s direct suppliers of live livestock in the management and conservation of biodiversity, as well as to create alliances with local companies to encourage such conservation actions.
In contrast, Maggie Charnley, Global Director of Forests in the UK, expressed herself and emphasized that “the project represents an essential step in protecting Colombia’s forest cover. Large-scale livestock farming is one of the main causes of deforestation in the country. Efforts with these high-impact allies are key, as they can build new business models around sustainable livestock that provide high-quality food, and income for local producers and help mitigate climate change.”
The project promoted by this alliance hopes to have a positive impact in raising awareness among customers, suppliers and the retail sector about sustainable production and the iteration of this business model.
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