Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems ...

1 SAFA Sustainability Assessment of food and Agriculture systems guidelines (Test Version ) NATURAL RESOURCES management AND ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT FAO, Rome, 12 June 2012 3 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its fron-tiers or boundaries.

2 The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not nec-essarily reflect the views of FAO. All rights reserved. FAO encourages the reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Non-commercial uses will be authorized free of charge, upon request.

3 Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes, including educational purposes, may incur fees. Applications for permission to reproduce or disseminate FAO copyright materials, and all queries concerning rights and licences, should be addressed by e-mail to or to the Chief, Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Office of Knowledge Exchange, Re-search and Extension, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. Acknowledgements The Natural Resources management and Environment Department is grateful for the re-search work provided by Sasha Courville, Jan Grenz, Elisabeth Guttenstein, Julia Jawtusch, Madeleine Kaufmann, Jonathan Loh, No mi Nemes, Christian Schader, Susanne Stalder and Christian Thalmann.

4 Special thanks go to the hundreds individuals who provided their insights on the occasion of the SAFA experts consultations held in November 2009 and April 2011, electronic fora held in early 2011 and 2012, and numerous stakeholders surveys and interviews. Last but not least, the knowledge of nearly one hundred colleagues across the legal, Agriculture , forestry, fisheries, social and economic Departments of FAO is acknowledged. FAO 2012 4 Preface The SAFA guidelines are produced in the same spirit of codes of practice, guidelines and other recommended measures to assist in achieving fair practices in food and Agriculture production and trade.

5 This publication is intended to guide and promote the elaboration and establishment of definitions and requirements for sustainable food and Agriculture systems and to assist in their harmonisation. The SAFA guidelines are the result of an iterative process, built on the cross-comparisons of codes of practice, corporate reporting, standards, indicators and other technical protocols currently used by food and other companies and organizations that implement Sustainability tools. The structure and methodology of the SAFA guidelines draw specifically upon: ISO 14040:2006 (International Organization for Standardization, 2009), the ISEAL Code of Good Practice (version ; International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alli-ance, 2010), the Reference Tools of the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP, 2010) and the Sustainability Reporting guidelines and food Sector Supplement of the Global Re-porting Initiative (version.)

6 GRI, 2011a; 2011b). The SAFA guidelines consist of three parts. Part A contains the rationale, purpose, vision, goals and principles of SAFA. Part B outlines the procedure of SAFA implementation. Part C contains the list of SAFA categories and indicators. This guidelines version will be pilot tested in a number of settings, including small and large food and non- food chains, at the Agriculture , processing and retail levels, in both developed and developing countries. Based on the pilot tests outcomes, the SAFA guidelines will be revised and finalised in 2013 in order to improve their practicality, applicability, usefulness and soundness.

7 Further information on SAFA may be obtained from: Nadia El-Hage Scialabba Natural Resources management and Environment Department food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome, Italy Tel: +39 06 5705 6729 Fax: +39 06 5705 3064 E-mail: Website: 5 Foreword These guidelines have been prepared for the purpose of providing an agreed approach to the requirements which underpin sustainable production, manufacturing and retailing of food and Agriculture products.

8 The aims of these guidelines are: to offer a fair playing field to primary producers, manufacturers and retailers in the food and Agriculture sector, including crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries produc-tion of food , fibre, energy and other biomass-related products; to provide a benchmark that defines the essential components of sustainable food and Agriculture systems , including the natural, social, economic and institutional components; to provide a template for Agriculture and food Sustainability Assessment , for those who wish to substantiate Sustainability claims.

9 These guidelines are the result of three years of participatory development, together with practitioners from civil society and private sector. At this stage, the guidelines are a first step into international harmonisation of the requirements for Sustainability in terms of produc-tion and marketing of sustainable Agriculture , forestry and fisheries commodities. Experi-ence with the development of such requirements and their implementation is still limited. Moreover, perception on what Sustainability entails differs widely among stakeholders.

10 Therefore, the following is recognised at this stage: the guidelines are a useful instrument in assisting producers, manufacturers and re-tailers to undertake sustainable management and reporting; the guidelines need regular improvement and updating in order to take into account technical progress and the experience with their implementation; the guidelines do not prejudice the implementation of more customised arrange-ments and more detailed requirements by stakeholders in order to respond to spe-cific consumer demands.