Environmental targets vital to show Canada is serious about sustainability. Ottawa—A National Index on Agri-Food Performance (NIAFP) is needed to show the world where Canada is at in terms of making sustainability a key ingredient in its food production, says a new report. Sustainability is gaining increased recognition among consumers and food processors around the world and benchmarking Canada's progress is vital to fulfilling international demand, says the Agri-Food Sustainability Targets reported authored by David McInnes, former president of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. “Right now, a consolidated set of metrics is not readily available to show that Canada is among the most environmentally sustainable, safest and reliable global food leaders,” the report says. “Indeed, other countries are seeking to declare their leadership on these claims and global indices often rank other nations performing better than Canada. Ceding Canada's leadership to others must not be an option.” Twenty 20 agrifood and nature organizations and federal departments are collaborating on creating the NIAFP including “a set of indicators of performance and progress that could catalyze the country's ambitious agrifood industry growth agenda, respond to changing food expectations and scrutiny and compete on a world stage in years to come.” Many food companies and their supply chains partners and some producer organizations, “are setting specific targets to responsibly source or supply ingredients, reduce GHG emissions and minimize waste, among other goals.” The report says “producers are taking greater interest in appropriate outcomes-based measures, building on an impressive record of on-farm continuous improvement that has significantly enhanced ecosystem benefits and improved economic sustainability.” Food production sustainability is also important to countries working on meeting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Accord for greenhouse gas emissions, it said. “Canada's competitors, such as the U.S. and the EU, and farm and food organizations abroad are declaring bold targets to improve their environmental performance. “Expressing credible performance targets is clearly becoming a key tool here and worldwide to add economic value, compete and improve the environment. “Canada ought to be a global leader in demonstrating its leadership on these matters,” the report said. “Thanks to innovation-adoption and global leading practices and confidence in the regulatory process, Canada's food production system has one of the lowest environmental footprints anywhere. The bar is rising here and abroad to back up these credentials and mark progress.” The NIAFP would be vital because “A consolidated set of metrics is not readily available to show that Canada is among the most environmentally sustainable, safest and reliable global food leaders.” Many food companies, agri-businesses and retailers, and some producer organizations, have committed to responsibly sourcing 100 per cent of ingredients, reducing GHG emissions, shifting to sustainable packaging, and minimizing waste,” the report said. “Delivering on these often requires companies to commit their supply chains, increasing collaboration and alignment with producers. “Some firms are also pledging to improve “system resilience” which reaches beyond their supply chains and could be transformational, such as improving watershed health and biodiversity. While on-farm continuous improvement has significantly enhanced ecosystem benefits and improved productivity producers are expressing greater interest in outcomes-based metrics provided that the data adds value. “New data platforms and organizations are forming to engage producers and companies to generate the relevant data and processes to verify commitments and demonstrate the value of doing so. New sector-wide initiatives, both nationally and globally, are working pre-competitively to improve environmental sustainability and transparency. “In short, stewardship targets and benchmarking are varied and here to stay.” Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.