During Climate Week this week, the U.S. Grains Council’s Corn Sustainability Assurance Protocol (CSAP) Version 1.1 for the first time achieved Gold Level Equivalence against The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform’s (SAI Platform) Farm Sustainability Assessment 3.0 – the highest possible equivalence level.
The CSAP is a farmer-led initiative that highlights the strong institutional sustainability foundations underpinning U.S. agriculture, as well as the traditional and innovative techniques that U.S. corn producers are adopting on a daily basis. The 1.1 version of the CSAP incorporates new language, further expanding the assurances of the sustainability of U.S. corn production across the various impact categories assessed in the benchmarking process.
“U.S. corn production has always been anchored to the strong foundations of the U.S. agricultural system, which includes numerous incentives for producers to implement conservation practices, as well as strict and enforceable regulations that ensure natural resources are protected and preserved,” said U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Ryan LeGrand. “The Corn Sustainability Assurance Protocol captures the full scope of these assurances in corn production, and we are now glad to see them recognized through the achievement of gold-level equivalency with SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment.”
The SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment is a globally recognized framework and toolset aimed at promoting the continuous improvement of on farm sustainability practices. Over 100 programs across five continents have been benchmarked against the Farm Sustainability Assessment. This helps the agriculture industry advance the cause of sustainability for farmers, agribusiness, and consumers by creating alignment and a common understanding of sustainability.
This benchmark will support Council agricultural business members and their clients, who use the CSAP and the Sustainable Corn Exports (SCE) web platform to produce records of sustainability for U.S. corn and other corn-product exports that international trading partners and end-users are requesting.
“Achieving FSA Gold Level Equivalency is very valuable and important for the CSAP and our industry. The enhanced version allows us to incorporate new language that showcases and strengthens the assurances our producers are already committed to in terms of the impacts associated with their activities,” said Andrew Brandt, USGC director of trade policy. “This means that international buyers of corn and corn-products will now have a much more robust tool to address sustainable sourcing requirements within global supply chains.”
“USGC’s CSAP offers immense value and opportunity for promoting sustainability amongst US corn growers. I would like to congratulate USGC on achieving the highest level of equivalence against the FSA. This firmly underlines their level of ambition in the pursuit of a more sustainable and responsible future for farming”, said Joe Iveson, FSA Manager.
SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment 3.0 is a global reference framework which empowers farmers and the broader agricultural value chain to demonstrate sustainability and identify opportunities for continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with the objectives of the Farm Sustainability Assessment.
Learn more about the CSAP and the SCE platform by visiting: https://www.sustainablecornexports.org/
