Coles Finest carbon neutral beef and pork makes its mark

At the same time, Coles has launched a carbon neutral pork range under its Coles Finest label, available nationally and including eight cuts from rib rack, cutlets and schnitzel to leg roasts and tomahawk steaks.

Coles CN beef brand is now available in 95 per cent of its stores. It was launched in Western Australia in April, completing its national roll-out.

The brand is now supplied by more than 17 producers across the country.

It seems consumers in Australia are willing to put their money where their mouth is on climate change to keep CN programs growing.

The first CN beef offering in Australia, Five Founders from one of Australia's oldest and largest businesses, the North Australian Pastoral Company or NAPCO, is powering.

This year, NSW operation Macka's Pastoral declared their carbon neutrality from paddock to plate.

Underpinning the products with eating quality appears to be the secret to success, and indeed that has been strongly acknowledged by Coles.

The company told Farmonline this week Coles Finest Certified Carbon Neutral Beef was "striking a chord with people looking for a great tasting product that has a carbon neutral footprint from farm to shelf."

Coles senior beef livestock procurement manager Stephen Rennie told an earlier beef industry conference that while a growing segment of the market was looking for carbon neutral credentials, it had to come with high eating quality - that was non-negotiable.

He predicted the growth of the brand would depend on delivering consistent eating quality using the MSA (Meat Standards Australia) model, no matter the season.

Coles Finest CN beef first hit Victorian shelves early last year and its success soon saw it expanded to other states.

It's certified under the Australian Government's Climate Active carbon neutral standard.

Coles works with consultants Integrity Ag and farmers to identify ways to reduce emissions from their operations. This is what is known as 'insetting' - the process of reducing emissions directly related to their source.

However, it also needs to purchase carbon credits to reach carbon neutral status, as do most CN food labels. This is called offsetting.

Coles buys Australian Carbon Credit Units, or ACCUs, from the Armoobilla Regeneration Project in Queensland.

For its pork range, Coles is working with a Western Australian supplier, Milne Agrigroup, who has implemented practices such as reducing the use of artificial fertilisers, investing in renewable energy and improving soil management.

Milne's farm emissions are more than 30 per cent below the Australian pork industry average.