One language for sustainability in the food chain

More than 25 organisations in the food chain are joining forces. They are launching True Value Language, designed to measure, assess and report on sustainability performance in a single, consistent way. FNLI has been involved from the very start.

Joint step towards a sustainable agricultural transition

Farmers, growers, processors, banks, researchers and government bodies are all on board. The concept may sound straightforward, but the potential impact is significant. True Value Language builds on existing initiatives and aims to bring clarity: one method for measuring performance in the areas of nature, climate, environment, health and animal welfare.

With such a shared language, hidden costs and benefits can be reflected in the price of food. For farmers and growers, that means greater clarity. It makes investment and decision-making in the chain more straightforward. And it provides governments and financiers with the information they need to report transparently and reward sustainable achievements.

Role of FNLI

According to FNLI, consistent and comparable data is still often lacking. “We see the importance and the necessity of one shared language that leads to uniform sustainability data,” the federation states.

The organisation represents the food processing industry and coordinates with existing national and international initiatives. This helps prevent duplication of work and ensures that lessons learned from earlier projects can be applied directly.

Urgency driven by legislation and regulations

The pressure to become more sustainable is increasing. Nitrogen, climate, water quality, biodiversity – all these issues are on the agenda at the same time. Without uniform data, actions often remain fragmented and hard to compare.

New legislation such as the CSRD and the European Green Deal further increases the need for reliable data. True Value Language is intended to lay the foundation for agriculture that is not only economically viable, but also ecologically and socially valuable.

Fnli.nl