The American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) process to develop a national standard for sustainable agriculture will take another step forward in September: The newly formed Standards Committee will meet next month to establish its work plan and form the subcommittees that will negotiate the contents of the final standard.
The 58 members of the Standards Committee — including the University of Florida’s Jim Barrett and Lawn & Garden Retailer contributor Stan Pohmer of Pohmer Consulting Group — will get the process under way at the first Standards Committee meeting, to be held next month in Madison, Wis.
“This is an exciting moment, as it sets the stage for the first national discussion about sustainable agriculture and the many important issues encompassed by this concept,” said Michael Arny, president of Leonardo Academy, the ANSI-accredited standards development organization charged with shepherding the process forward.
The Leonardo Academy’s aim is to guide a process that supports continuous improvement over time in a measurable and transparent manner, with sufficient flexibility to take into account the changes that inevitably occur in ecosystems, and the production variables associated with different agricultural regions, Arny said.
Remote access to meetings for participants at both the Standards Committee and Subcommittee levels will remove barriers to participation for members who are not able to travel to meetings. This will also help reduce the energy burden and lower the carbon footprint of the standard setting process itself.
“The commitment of so many talented individuals to participate in a constructive, forward-looking sustainability dialogue bodes well for a process that will help guide sustainability practices for years to come,” said Linda Brown, executive vice president of Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). “There is a growing recognition that sustainability is itself a journey, one that ultimately involves relationships along the entire value chain, from grower to consumer… But it is these very challenges that provide the most compelling reasons for stakeholders to join in this national sustainability dialogue.”
For more information on the standard process, visit www.leonardoacademy.org.
