Toward "Better" Meat? Aligning Meat Sourcing Strategies with Corporate Climate and Sustainability Goals

The report examines the environmental impacts of different meat production systems and warns that "better meat"—often defined by social or ethical attributes—can counterintuitively result in higher environmental impacts per kilogram of protein. To mitigate this, the report advises companies to prioritize shifting toward plant-based foods and alternative proteins, and to further reduce meat volumes if "better meat" strategies increase overall emissions.

• The term "better meat" lacks a standardized definition and typically encompasses environmental, social, economic, or ethical attributes, often linked to alternative agricultural production systems.
• Research indicates that production systems categorized as "better meat" frequently lead to higher environmental impacts per kilogram of protein, despite potential improvements in animal welfare.
• The report proposes a six-step strategy for food companies to balance sustainability goals: calculating scope 3 GHG emissions, shifting from high-emissions products (beef and lamb) to plant-based foods and alternative proteins, defining product-specific priorities, assessing environmental impacts, reducing meat volume further if impacts increase, and engaging suppliers.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Toward "Better" Meat? Aligning Meat Sourcing Strategies with Corporate Climate and Sustainability Goals. https://www.wri.org/research/better-meat-sourcing-climate-sustainability-goals

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Toward "Better" Meat? Aligning Meat Sourcing Strategies with Corporate Climate and Sustainability Goals. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/better-meat-sourcing-climate-sustainability-goals.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Toward "Better" Meat? Aligning Meat Sourcing Strategies with Corporate Climate and Sustainability Goals |url=https://www.wri.org/research/better-meat-sourcing-climate-sustainability-goals |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendtoward, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Toward "Better" Meat? Aligning Meat Sourcing Strategies with Corporate Climate and Sustainability Goals}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/better-meat-sourcing-climate-sustainability-goals}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }