Lloyds Banking Group and Soil Association Exchange have partnered on what they are describing as a definitive, “first of its kind” environmental baselining assessment – designed to be rolled out across the food sector.
The pair have called on the government to back the project, unveiled this week, in a bid to create a unified methodology for the entire food sector.
The project could not only reduce the environmental impact of British food production, but also “secure the future of the entire UK farming and food supply chain”, they said.
Soil Association Exchange (SAX) is a division of the organic certification board, launched in 2021 to measure the environmental impact of farm operations.
As part of its project with Lloyds, it has undertaken an “unprecedented” analysis of 238,494 hectares of farmland across 685 UK farms, looking at six key areas: soil health, carbon, biodiversity, animal welfare, water, and people & society.
Using the data compiled via the project – backed by the likes of Arla, Nestlé, M&S, Riverford Organic Farmers and ABP – farmers could adopt bespoke sustainability plans for their businesses, said SAX CEO Joseph Gridley.
“Every farm is different, so support is essential to help navigate the complexities of sustainable farming,” he added.
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“Our goal is to empower farmers with the tools they need to make positive changes for their businesses, their communities, and the environment while still producing high quality, nutritious food.”
The project’s data will create a true baseline “for the first time” on climate impact for food producers, said Lloyds, with 85% of farmers who have completed the exercise already having adopted more nature-friendly practices.
Unlike rival measurement schemes, it offered a holistic view of a farm’s impact, rather than looking at their carbon impact in isolation, the bank added. Lloyds pointed to concerns around a lack of soil health data in particular.
“These insights present an evidence base for a new approach,” the financial services giant said.
“They overcome the issue of the lack of a common standard that is risking inaction by some, and scepticism in others. Too many farmers feel they either cannot trust in the differing outcomes of data collection or spare the time to engage with impact measurement.”
Farmers needed “consistent support, reliable data, and financial incentives to make this transition successful”, said Lloyds head of agriculture Lee Reeves.
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The project’s data could “set out a clear pathway towards sustainable farming and a blueprint for environmental measurement” that could be adopted more widely, he added, giving UK farmers “the confidence to thrive long-term, both economically and environmentally”.
The two organisations and their industry partners are now calling on the government to back its way of measuring farm impacts.
An agreed methodology would ensure “calculators and platforms create data that is reliable, operates across different systems and can be widely used”, they said.
As government had already acknowledged, this would boost trust and uptake of these tools, empowering farmers and their value chain partners to make choices around improved practices and work together to implement change, the pair added.
“Reliable data is critical to this kind of fair risk-sharing and reward, which will also help create the conditions for rural growth.”
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