By Janjoris van Diepen
Footprint Director North America – Merieux NutriScience | Blonk
My second year attending the Sustainable Agriculture Summit reaffirmed why this event continues to matter. Unlike many sustainability gatherings dominated by large brands, this summit brings together the full value chain—from farmers and feed suppliers to processors, food companies, and retailers. That diversity is exactly why the conversations feel grounded in reality rather than marketing headlines. Across sessions and hallway chats, one theme kept resurfacing: the US food system urgently needs harmonized, transparent environmental footprint methodology [1].
Climate change and the drive for a more resilient food system are reshaping how companies measure and manage sustainability. Policies such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) [1], California’s SB 253 [2], and voluntary commitments aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) [3] are increasing expectations for supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. This creates a strong pull for reliable data from upstream suppliers and a growing need for consistent methods to evaluate emissions, land use, and other environmental impacts.
Yet the U.S. lacks a standardized, high-resolution footprint database tailored to its agricultural systems. Existing datasets are useful for early screening but fall short for detailed value-chain analysis, decarbonization strategy development, or routine updates. Misaligned system boundaries, uneven data quality, and varied methodological choices make comparisons difficult and slow progress.
Europe provides a compelling contrast. Over the past decade, the European Commission has developed the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) framework [4], which sets common rules for impact assessment across product categories and is supported by an internally consistent environmental footprint database. Complementary commercial datasets—including Agri-footprint [5] and the World Food LCA Database [6]—operate within the same methodological foundation.
The U.S. food sector increasingly recognizes the need to close this gap. At the Summit in Anaheim, we convened stakeholders from across the value chain—supported by Blonk research fellows Dr. Marty Matlock and Dr. Greg Thoma—to explore the development of a U.S. Food Industry Environmental Footprint Datahub. We discussed key technical features, governance needs, and the business case for a unified approach. Lara Moody of IFEEDER shared lessons from the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) [7], demonstrating how an industry-led effort can successfully set consistent rules and build a widely adopted dataset.
What encouraged me most was the tone of the discussion. Stakeholders were candid about the challenges but optimistic about what alignment could unlock. There was broad consensus that a unified, scientifically grounded methodology and datahub is not just helpful—it’s essential. In the absence of federal leadership, this responsibility will fall to industry organizations, commodity groups, and the broader value chain.
The path forward will require collaboration, investment, and technical rigor. But the momentum is real, and so is the need. A unified environmental footprint foundation will help the US food system measure what matters, communicate transparently, and accelerate progress toward a more resilient, climate-smart future.
References
[1] European Commission. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/corporate-sustainability-reporting-directive-csrd_en
[2] California Air Resources Board. SB 253: Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
[3] Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): https://sciencebasedtargets.org
[4] European Commission. Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Methodology: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/product-environmental-footprint_en
[5] Agri-footprint Database: https://www.agri-footprint.com
[6] World Food LCA Database: https://quantis-intl.com/wfldb
[7] Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI): https://globalfeedlca.org
