Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative Summary September 18 th, 2017
AGENDA Overview of the Sustainable Farm & Food Initiative (SFFI) Summary of stakeholder consultation Next steps moving forward Questions/Discussion
What is the Sustainable Farm and Food Initiative?
What is SFFI? A collaboration of Ontario s farm organizations and food/beverage processors Full scope, whole farm, whole value chain sustainability transparency system Focused on three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environment Emphasis on developing a pre-competitive data sharing platform Goal is to provide a platform for harmonization of multiple tools and standards Help to manage risk to meet global demand for safe, healthy, and sustainable agri-food products
PROVISION COALITION MEMBERS
Mission To facilitate continuous improvement in sustainability across the entire agri-food industry; ensuring confidence in the consistency, ethics, and quality of Canadian agri-food products.
Objectives Increase transparency and sustainability of Canadian agricultural supply systems; Reduce duplication and manage cost of assuring sustainability of primary production; Develop sustainability competencies and capacity-building across the industry; Be a forum for knowledge exchange and networking.
Goal of SFFI Examples The goal is to develop a system which will provide connections and cohesion across multiple existing programs, tools, and standards based on the following principles: Whole Farm, Whole Value Chain Use existing programs in order to be efficient; integrate requirements from relevant standards and tools (including international) Flexible system which will enable broad range of requirements, from education / BMPs to 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd party audits to performance outcomes Assessment for equivalencies: benchmark relevant standards Assurance / Verification harmonization: simplify and streamline Easier & Affordable Assurance/Verification Mechanism: enable data sharing and online reporting
What do we know from our research so far?
2016: >50 STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS 26 FARM SECTOR 26 FOOD SECTOR AgEco Beef Farmers of Ontario Bioindustrial Innovation Canada CFFO Clean Farms CRSC CRSB DFO Egg Farmers of Ontario Flowers Canada Food and Beverage Ontario GFO Greenbelt Foundation Landscape Ontario LRIC National Farm Animal Care Council OAC at U of G Ontario Apple Growers Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processors Association Ontario Independent Meat Processors Ontario Pork Ontario Produce Marketing Association Sustain Ontario WWF Veal Farmers of Ontario VRIC Companies (17) Walmart US/Global* & Walmart Canada Asda UK (owned by Walmart)* Ahold (retailer EU + US)* Delhaize (retailer EU + US)* Metro Loblaw Federated Coop McDonald s Canada* A&W Canada Unilever (global)* Pepsico North America* McCain* Bunge* Ingredion* Maple Leaf Foods Farm Credit Canada Provision Coalition Processor Association Members (5) Baking Association of Canada Canadian Oilseeds Processors (with Canola Council) Wine Council of Ontario Canadian Beverage Association Sustainable Ag Initiatives (4) SAI Platform ITC re: SAI Platform s FSA online tool The Sustainability Consortium SAP re: TSC s online tool * Note: International food companies which are recognized sust. ag global leaders.
What Do We Know? National and international sustainability landscape is complex and evolving rapidly Ontario/Canadian farmers are facing a wide range of sustainability requests Ranging from not on the radar to urgent Certain commodity groups are pressing forward with their own strategies This is leading to potential confusion in the marketplace, duplication of efforts, and risk of missing collaborative approach, leveraging funds, etc. There is a lack of consensus on the role of EFP/GYFP in a Canadian sustainable agriculture initiative, however, there is now consensus on establishing minimum standards through a National EFP Stakeholders along the value chain do not want a piecemeal approach Strongly support a cohesive, streamlined, national, whole farm, whole value chain solution
How Does SFFI Help? For farmers? For value chain? For government? For civil society? One data collection system Trusted data manager/system administrator Seamless alignment with customer requirements Opportunities for learning and continuous improvement One trusted and robust pre-competitive platform for Canadian agriculture Seamless alignment with demands/requirements of other value chain stakeholders Increasing the overall competitiveness of Canadian agri-food products Sustainability data management system that supports export requirements, protects market share, builds public trust Streamlined approach that optimizes government funding Ability to engage with farm and food sector to meet sustainability goals across the three pillars (social, environment, economic)
What might it look like?
Farmer visits the SFFI website Registers (or logs-in) Privacy permissions / disclaimers
Farmer registers & verifies existing programs Examples only: Environmental Farm Program (EFP) Growing Your Farm Profits (GYFP) Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS)
SFFI platform organizes farmer s information Populates additional modules for farmer to complete if necessary
SFFI Verification A verification scheme that is a combination of self-reporting, sample percentage, and potential group verification Farmer Reports Individual farm reports will be sent to the farmer Aggregate Reports Accessible to customers within the value chain via Reporting Dashboard for SFFI members
Hosting organization/entity (TBD) SFFI DATABASE SFFI Governance Board & Staff Farmer SFFI Registration (User-friendly portal) Privacy Permissions /Disclaimers SFFI Benchmarking Report to farmer SFFI Verification with farmer (TBD) SFFI People, Planet, Profit Register and verify existing programs (e.g., EFP, GYFP, RTRS) SFFI Benchmarking Standards with EFP, GYFP, other programs (Canadian and International) SFFI Sector/ Technical Committees Key Performance Indicators Planet, People, Profit SFFI Verification (Details TBD) Aggregate Reports via Reporting Dashboard for SFFI members Farmer Reports Individual farm report can be sent to customers with permission *Include certificate
Where do we go from here?
Must-Haves National scope, including all grower regions and products Full supply chain engagement, including NGOs A safe space organization to be: Forum to share and network; Workshop to build tools through synergy of working together; Unifying voice that enables dialogue across and between provincial, national, and international sustainability organizations Note: strong parallel to Field to Market mission, goals, and requirements; could be useful as an example for the governance model What this means: A collaborative effort emphasizing a foundation of science- and outcomes-based approaches to sustainability, the inclusion of diverse perspectives, and, a focus on agriculture with recognition of their unique supply chains
SFFI Next Steps Proof-of-Concept Pilot Develop a proofof-concept project based in Ontario Test functionality of SFFI concept National Scope Initiate a series of targeted conversations Develop collaborative sustainability initiative Do we need a new name? International Alignment Proceed with benchmarking EFP and GYFP through ITC and/or SAI/FSA Develop a baseline for Canadian participation in global sustainability arena
Next Steps Pilot Project National Scope International Alignment Initiate collaborative pilot project with value chain members to test SFFI concept Develop application for further funding to conduct a pilot project (likely in 2017/2018) Actual pilot project would be separate from current funding envelope Currently finalizing plans for a pilot project with the dairy goat sector Initiate and convene meetings with stakeholders at the national level (to include working group/steering committee members when possible) Conduct 10-15 more interviews/discussions with value chain members Solicit letters of support from across the value chain Develop funding application for full implementation of SFFI (2018) Conduct further research on SAI/FSA Submit EFP and GYFP for benchmarking with SAI/FSA Align pilot project with partners and funding applications to optimize synergies with international standards (primarily with SAI/FSA)
Timeline (Sept. 2017 Aug.2018) Action Month S O N D J F M A M J J A Secure funds to begin national exploration phase Engagement across agri-food sector nationally Further Develop organizational framework Secure government seed funding Open membership for inauguration of national organization Election of Board of Directors
Stakeholder Consultation Project Management Team Bronwynne Wilton Synthesis Agri-Food Network Rob Hannam Synthesis Agri-Food Network David Smith Orion Global Business Sustainability Consultants
Questions?