Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable Cities Emerging Practices and Standards

Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Cities— Emerging Practices and Standards By Bill Blackburn March 13, 2009 American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Keystone, CO Conference William Blackburn Consulting, Ltd. Web: www. WBlackburn. Consulting. com Email: WRB@WBlackburn. Consulting. com Phone: 847. 530. 4014 © Copyright 2007: William R. Blackburn

General Definition of Sustainability. Triple Bottom Line (Elkington 1997) Meeting the bottom line of not just economic (financial) performance, but social and environmental performance as well.

General Definition of Sustainability 2 R’s (Blackburn 2007) Respect: respect for people and other living things Resources: the wise use of economic and natural resources ---for the purpose of promoting the long-term well-being of the organization and society.

Agriculture: Sustainability Impacts Must double ag production by 2050 Grain-producing land per capita will be 1/3 of 1950 level Globally, ag takes 70% of freshwater withdrawals; it will require 17% more by 2020 Ag contributes 14% of global greenhouse gases (10% in US) ; 17% more comes from deforestation and land transformation In the US, food in an average meal travels 1500 miles to reach your plate Sources for references: The Keystone Center, Field to Market: the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, Sept 2008: Wal-Mart Sustainable Ag Fact Sheet, May 2008

Sustainable Agriculture: Definition Per 1990 Farm Bill Agricultural practices that: Satisfy human food and fiber needs; Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends; Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources, and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; Sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

Sustainable Agriculture: Sustainable Agriculture Practice Standard (SCS-001) Coverage: Food, fiber and biofuel crop producers; ag product handlers and processors Tiers: 1= baseline performance 2=best practices (80% min. ) Basis for draft: Veriflora environmental and labor standards for flower production (promotes non. GMO, organic and fair trade/labor) Possible evolution: SCS→ANSI →ISO

Sustainable Agriculture: SCS-001 Topics 1. Sustainable Crop Production 2. Ecosystem mgmt & protection l. Pest/disease mgmt. l. Habitat l. Pesticide, herbicide mgmt/protection l Protection of biodiversity l. Maintenance/ restoration of native species l. Carbon sequestration l. Protection of waterways l. Land clearing and chemical fertilizer restrictions/ phase-out; l. Crop mgmt: varieties, seedstocks, planting patterns, etc. l. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) l. Soil conservation and erosion control 3. Resource Conservation & Energy Efficiency l. Water use and conservation l. Aquifer recharge l. Wastewater treatment l. Energy efficiency l. Greenhouse gas emissions l. Packaging and shipping materials l. Use of recycled, reused, compostable and sustainability-sourced materials

Sustainable Agriculture: SCS-001 Topics 4. Integrated Waste Mgmt. 5. Fair Labor Practices 6. Community benefits l. Handling, use, storage l. Hiring, wages, non- l. Environmental and disposal of agrochemicals; control of runoff l. Non-chemical waste reduction and management; pollution prevention; l. Management and reduction of crop waste; composting discrimination, working hours, benefits, l. Collective bargaining, benefits, child & forced labor l. Worker access to water, sanitary facilities, housing l. Worker training, health & safety l. Worker & family access to education, health & transportation services social impacts on surrounding community l. Contribution to infrastructure maintenance l. Local hiring and procurement l. Financial viability

Sustainable Agriculture: SCS-001 Topics 7. Product Quality l. Product quality, appearance & grade l. Product traceability; chain of custody l. Product storage & shipment practices l. Product loss l. Quality mgmt system (training, recordkeeping, etc. ) 8. Product Safety & Purity l. Food safety audits and management procedures for edible crops l. Contaminant residue mgmt. risk for handlers and consumers Other l. Legal compliance

Sustainable Agriculture: SCS-001 Status April 07 draft national standard submitted to ANSI Nov 08 Dispute with mainstream ag organizations (pro. GMO, agrochemical, biofuel, livestock) that were excluded from standards development process Objection by small and medium growers (National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture) USDA appeal to ANSI Vision, scope and needs documents being redefined

Sustainable Agriculture: Other Initiatives Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops – 30 growers, suppliers, buyers, experts (NRDC, WWF, Wal-Mart, Heinz, Unilever) – Sustainable ag for flowers, fruits, nuts, vegetables – Dec 08 list of issues Field to Market Alliance for Sustainable Ag Outcomes (The Keystone Center) – NGOs, growers, business in supply chain (WWF, Conservation International, Con. Agra, General Mills, Farm Bureau, Du. Pont, Kellogg, Mc. Donalds) – National sustainable ag environmental indicators for commodity crops (Sept 08 draft)

Sustainable Agriculture: RSB Biofuels Standard Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switz (EPFL)-Energy Center – Farmers, companies, NGOs experts, govt. (UNEP, WWF, FSC, BP, Shell, Petrobras) – Principles and criteria for sustainable biofuels production (Aug 08 draft) q. Legality q. Food security q. Consultation q. Conservation q. Climate Change q. Soil q. Human & labor rights q. Water q. Rural & social development

Sustainable Cities: Frameworks Local Agenda/Action 21 Model Communities Program (UNDP, ICLEI, et al. ) ISO 26000 Social Responsibility Guidelines Standard (2010) Best frameworks (see The Sustainability Handbook) – Sustainability vision or policy (e. g. , LA 21 MCP; Santa Monica, CA) – Stakeholder Engagement – Planning – Performance Indicators – Reporting – Development and building design (e. g. , Chicago, Portland, OR) – Procurement (e. g. , ICLEI Procura+ Campaign)

Sustainable Cities: Planning NYC; San Francisco; Denver; Seattle; Portland, OR; Burlington, VT; Northampton, MA; Marin County, CA Am Planning Assn Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability Stakeholder engagement beyond regulatory/ due process standards

Sustainable Cities: Climate Change Initiatives ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection (650 participants globally) Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement (600 US mayors) C 40 (Large) Cities Climate Leadership Group (Clinton Foundation)

Sustainable Cities: Sustain. Lane US City Rankings Initiative of Sustain. Lane Media (proprietary web network on sustainability information for individuals) Similar to Forum for the Future’s Sustainable Cities Index (UK) Ranks 50 largest US cities; top 5 for 2008: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Portland, OR San Francisco Seattle Chicago New York

Sustainable Cities: Sustain. Lane US City Rankings

Sustainable Cities: STAR Community Index (2010) Initiative of ICLEI (1000+ cities), US Green Building Council (LEED™) and Center for American Progress Certifiable standard with indicators/ metrics and point thresholds (like LEED) Consensus development process with 8 Technical Advisory Committees

Sustainable Cities: STAR Community Index (2010) Environment – Natural Systems (ecosystems and habitat, water and stormwater, air quality, waste, and resource conservation) – Planning & Design (land use, transportation and mobility, and parks, open space and recreation) – Energy & Climate (energy, emissions, renewable energy, and green building)

Sustainable Cities: STAR Community Index (2010) Economy – Economic Development (clean technologies and green jobs, local commerce, tourism, and local food system) – Employment & Workforce Training (green job training, employment and workforce wages, and youth skills)

Sustainable Cities: STAR Community Index (2010) Society – Education, Arts & Community (education excellence, arts and culture, and civic engagement and vitality) – Children, Health & Safety (community health and wellness, access to health care, and public safety) – Affordability & Social Equity (affordable and workforce housing, poverty, human services and race and social equity)

Sustainable Cities: Reporting Global Reporting Initiative’s G 3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (with Public Agency Supplement) UN Global Cities Indicators (Japan, World Bank) Community Indicators Consortium Draft ISO 26000 reporting provisions Environmental and social data included in financial reports of some local authorities (NZ, Australia)

Some Noteworthy Reports Seattle, WA Santa Monica, CA Pittsburgh, PA Hamilton, ON Penrith, Australia (GRI) Amsterdam (GRI) Wolverhampton, UK (GRI) Oslo, Norway

William Blackburn Consulting, Ltd. Web: www. WBlackburn. Consulting. com Email: WRB@WBlackburn. Consulting. com Phone: 847. 530. 4014 Book: The Sustainability Handbook— The Complete Management Guide to Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility (See Web site)