Following up from on our previous correspondence regarding the benchmarking of Proterra production standard against SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessement 2.0, we would like to publish the result on line from the following link: http://www.fsatool.com under ‘Benchmark results and planning’. Proterra production standard has a Silver level equivalence (100% essential, 80% basic and 62% advanced) for the FSA 2.0.
The benchmark score reflects the overall alignment between the FSA and Proterra production standard standard. We recognise that the FSA is general so far that it can be applied for most crops and all regions, and covers a wide range of issues. However it is on this general basis that your standard was assessed, we certainly recognise the need for specific focus and depth to deal with particular issues, as well as the need for a standard to be appropriate for the region. There may of course, be very valid reasons why some of the more advanced FSA questions should not/cannot be implemented in the context of the local situation. The result therefore does not impart any view by us on the value or effectiveness of a particular scheme.
We are of course happy for you to share this benchmark results with external audiences, on your website or in a news release for example. To ensure your messages are clear, we urge you to respect the following guidelines, as a minimum:
Mention the official version of your standard, as well as ‘SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment 2.0 (FSA)’.
Mention the level of FSA equivalence (gold, silver, bronze).
For company owned schemes, take care to express the current level of compliance amongst your farmer base, as well as the projected uptake.
When in doubt, please check your news releases and other texts for external communications with us (mconsalvo@saiplatform.org).
Capitalising on this benchmark result, we hope that it can be used to further strengthen our relationship and drive alignment between our two systems where possible. We review the FSA every three years. The next revision process is starting in July 2016 for publish in 2017, and we would be very grateful of any feedback you might have during this period. Equally, we would be more than happy to provide comment on behalf of our membership should you be in the process of consultation.
If you have any further questions on our ambitions or the details of our programme, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
