Selling into sustainability supply chains

Food companies and retailers around the world are using sustainability certification programs within their supply chains to send a message of sustainability to their customers.

International Sustainability and Carbon Certification

International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) targets the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable use of land and the protection of natural habitats. (iscc-system.org)

ADM and Viterra are working with ISCC to register canola farmers in Canada. Growers interested in learning more about the program and how to qualify can talk with local representatives from these companies.

Viterra answers 3 questions on ISCC

What sustainability standards do you (and ISCC) want from your farmers? We require the producers to follow a certain standard in order to be qualified for the program and remain within the program. The requirements ask for land conversion amounts after 2008 and ensure good social practice and human rights for all employees. Farmers also have to provide complete fertilizer and plant protection records, invoices of plant protection products, production records along with land description records.

Why do this? The sustainability program opens up market access channels for various commodities handled through the Viterra network.

What is the benefit to farmers who participate? With more export demand for their products, this helps create movement opportunities and adds value to the bottom line of their operations.

Cargill answers 3 questions on 2BSVS

Cargill offers its own ‘biomass, biofuel, sustainability voluntary scheme’ (2BSVS), which allows Canadian canola farmers to access new markets in the European Union. Cargill answered the same three questions:

What sustainability standards do you want from your farmers?
Our 2BSVS audit is an annual program that includes an audit at the farm level, which assesses field boundaries to ensure there’s been no planting on high conservation and high carbon-stock areas.

Why do this? This sustainability program, along with others, helps communicate the collective good work Canadian farmers are doing today, without expanding their environmental footprint. Determined by the European Union, participating farmers meet sustainability standards focused on conservation efforts and greenhouse gas emission savings. For example, farmers ensure the protection of high biodiversity value or high carbon stock areas on their land.

What is the benefit to farmers who participate? The program highlights farmers’ good stewardship of the land, while participating in competitive global trade flows. This globally-recognized sustainability scheme allows farmers to access new markets in the European Union.

Others

The Serecon report – “Final Report: Application of Sustainable Agriculture Metrics to Canadian Field Crops 2015,” available at ccga.ca – gave a few examples of food companies with sustainability goals:

General Mills has committed to “sustainably source 100 per cent of its 10 priority ingredients by 2020.”
Unilever intends to source 100 per cent of its agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020 (Unilever is working with Bunge to source sustainable canola from Canada. Find the company’s Sustainable Agriculture Code at unilever.com).
Walmart is sending out questionnaires to suppliers, asking for more information on sustainability performance and sourcing of commodities.

Farmer Perspective

Many farmers already meet sustainability standards

Doyle Wiebe SaskCanola director, chair Langham, Sask.

When I signed up for the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) program through Viterra, I was surprised how they had distilled their qualifications down to just five or six questions. For example, “Have you taken out any trees over the past five years?” The form took about two minutes to fill in. But as easy at it was to get approved, there hasn’t been an opportunity to take advantage of that status yet.

So why participate? I feel that I’m keeping all doors open for marketing opportunities. Over time, I’m not sure what the advantage is going to be, but it could mean the difference between being able to sell and not being able to sell.

In the bigger picture, by participating it helps us tell our story to consumers. Farmers on the Canadian Prairies have one of the best sustainability stories to tell. We have one of the most sustainable crop rotations in the world, with a variety of oilseeds, pulses and cereals available to us.

Widespread adoption of conservation tillage makes us good soil and energy stewards. And we abide by the laws of the land, which set high standards for employees and for air, soil and water quality.