Canadian Agri-Food in a Sustainable World
Note from CAPI:
The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) promised that Canadian Agri-Food in a Sustainable World, hosted in partnership with the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking, would lead to lively debate about tensions, challenges and opportunities related to sustainability in agriculture and food, and it did not disappoint. It brought together more than 200 leaders from industry, government, associations, civil society and academia from across the country and the world, for dialogue and debate around this contentious topic.
The two day event offered participants insight and food for thought: What does sustainability mean? How do we measure it? Are current policy approaches effectively delivering the environmental and economic outcomes we need or is a revamped approach needed? Who should be at the table to decide? And is industry doing its part? Finally, what role does CAPI’s Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking and its National Index for Agri-Food Performance play in the rapidly evolving world of ESG standards? What follows are the five key takeaways we heard from the conference.
Key Takeaways
1. Defining sustainability remains confusing, complex and misunderstood, but it is still worth pursuing for long term viability. While sustainability should account for all three outcomes (i.e. environmental, social and economic viability), current policies and standards have focused primarily on environmental goals. This has created tensions with key stakeholders (i.e. farmers), since policies and standards must be economically sustainable or there won’t be food.
2. Measuring sustainability with credible data and a framework of consistent standards is essential. Yet issues around data access, privacy and governance, and inconsistency across many different (ESG) standards have slowed progress. The National Index is a first step to meet these goals and can complement Canadian ESG standards.
3. The diverse voices of multiple stakeholders in agri-food require consulting, collaborating and communicating widely, since one size does not fit all. Consulting broadly with all stakeholders is essential to account for differences when defining strategies and determining policies and solutions since each can bring their valuable knowledge to the table. Working collaboratively across the sector will help us identify and prioritize the issues that we have in common.
4. Government’s role is to ensure policies are effective so outcomes can be achieved, but industry must do its part to show leadership. Government can enable, facilitate and incentivize through policies, investment and knowledge sharing, while agri-food stakeholders need to manage risks and adjust and adopt new business strategies and practices, requiring leadership on both sides.
5. Canada needs a clearer long-term vision and strategy for sustainability. While Canada has what it takes to lead the way in sustainable agri-food production and trade given its abundant land, water, capital and human ingenuity, progress has been slow and greater commitment is needed.
This conference and report were funded in part by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriAssurance Program.