Growers should tell sustainability story
CHICAGO — Apple growers should move now to tell their sustainability stories, Bruce Knight thinks.
Knight, principal and founder of Strategic Conservation Solutions LLC, spoke Aug. 19 at the 2021 U.S. Apple Association Outlook Conference.
He said political momentum is strong toward action on climate change and sustainability issues.
President Biden thinks he was elected partially because of the climate change issue and will give it plenty of focus, Knight said. After he was elected, Biden issued “rapid fire” executive orders on the issues, including the U.S. rejoining the Paris Accord on Climate Change. That agreement pledges a 52% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, he said.
“That’s an important factor for you all, because it’s going to have a ripple effect on your sector,” Knight said. Other developments include a 90-day report by the Biden administration on Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry. The United Nation scientists released their climate change report in August, and in September, the United Nations Climate Change Summit will take place. Another climate change conference will occur in Scotland at the end of the year, Knight said.
U.S. grain, livestock and other commodity groups are increasingly focused on sustainability, he said.
Sustainability has become a term associated with a scientific way of measuring environmental progress, and Knight said almost all commodity organizations are setting sustainability goals. In fact, even the fiercely independent cattle industry has set a goal for zero emissions by 2040.
The climate change issue is all about “the Google generation,” Knight said. With rising concern about a “climate change tipping point,” from which it may be impossible to reverse, the issue couldn’t be more front and center, he said.
Increasingly, consumers are asking about the environmental and energy footprint of companies they products from.
In the end, Knight said U.S. policymakers will consider either new taxes or incentive programs to motivate companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and other industries.
For the Biden administration, Knight says he expects the approach likely won’t be heavy-handed regulation, but rather a voluntary approach.
With that backdrop, the time is now for agriculture leaders to tell their sustainability stories, he said.
One threat is that sustainability surveys sent out by buyers move from simply a chore to a criteria of doing business. For example, buyers or the USDA may at a future date require some kind of sustainability compliance for supply contracts.
Another risk would be if consumers ask a producer about the operation’s carbon footprint and they are given no answers.
“I think you have a great story to tell, and I think it’s going to be relatively easy,” he said.
Consumers intuitively like trees and the good they do for the environment.
Knight said one of his worries is that an environmental group would put out a “Dirty Dozen” list for ag commodities based on the presumed carbon footprint of the commodity.
Another worry, he said, is that the USDA puts money to create incentives for sustainability measures on the farm before listening to the input of the industry.
The big opportunity, he said, is to develop models and research that tell the story for growers.
Given the success of the U.S. Apple Association in fighting for the interest of apple growers during COVID-19, Knight thinks the industry will be in good shape as voluntary sustainability programs gain more traction.
Knight urged the industry to use the power of storytelling to communicate with consumers and the market. Part of that story, he said, is talking about the multi-generational aspect of farming.
That is an attribute that many farms can tout.
Other aspects can include setting sustainability goals, conducting lifecycle analysis of products and calculating the carbon footprint of their operations, he said.
