Modelling a path to more sustainable landscapes

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The challenge
A science-based approach
Modelling impact at scale
Informing risk
Download project outputs

Introduction

Project details

Title: Outcome based standards - a landscape approach

Project lead: Bonsucro

Project partners: University of Minnesota (UMN), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), Diageo, PepsiCo, Tetra Pak

Duration: May 2020 – May 2023

Contact: Duncan Rhind - duncan@bonsucro.com

Funded through the ISEAL Innovations Fund, which is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

The challenge

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are developed to galvanise social and environmental improvements in agriculture and create transparency in supply chains. Commodity buyers and those involved in VSS want science-based principles and methodologies to help future standard setting. In addition, VSS and their users want to provide credible impact assessments and scenarios in real time to help evaluation. Furthermore, consultation will help to decide where to target standard adoption to maximise environmental performance.

A science-based approach

To address these challenges, Bonsucro and a broad coalition of project partners are exploring how standards can take a science-based approach and adapt to different environments by using locally informed metrics. The project will develop a geospatial tool that will allow stakeholders to explore the impact of standards adoption in “real-time” and inform decision-making. In addition, the economic benefits and costs of VSS adoption will be identified, and standards will be linked to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Modelling impact at scale

The research component of the project is led by the University of Minnesota (UMN) with The Natural Capital Project. The Initiative will assess each of the three VSS involved to fully understand regional “hotspots” in terms of environmental and economic opportunities and challenges. It will also summarise results at the regional and country-level and evaluate VSS performance against the national-level SDGs for South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India and identify opportunities and challenges given local context. This country-level analysis will pilot the development of country-level VSS indicators to explore the interplay between standards and net-environmental-impacts.

Informing risk

The approach will look at yield, water use, nutrient loading, greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, habitat loss, and economic costs. The models can then be used to evaluate the potential impact of different mitigation policies such as adopting certification standards, deforestation-free commitments, and policy influence. The geospatial tool will allow decision makers to evaluate different policy scenarios and prioritise future activities to minimise risk while maximising outcomes in a cost-effective way.

Download project outputs

Information pack: SCOPE geo-design tool | Bonsucro, UoM

Modelling a path to more sustainable landscapes

Modelling a path to more sustainable landscapes

Information pack - SCOPE geo-design tool | Bonsucro, UoM

Case study: Corporate global value chain - SCOPE geo-design tool | UMN, Bonsucro

Case study: Financial institutions - SCOPE geo-design tool | UMN, Bonsucro

Case study: SDGs - SCOPE geo-design tool | UMN, Bonsucro