Fresh Picks & Sustainability Tips: June 2024
The sustainability survey season is approaching fast, and the deadline to become IPM-certified is just around the corner.
Are you feeling prepared?
At first, sustainability initiatives can be a big undertaking, but that’s where Measure to Improve thrives! We love to help our clients make sense of the rapidly changing sustainability and reporting landscape and find ways to make it more approachable and efficient for growers, processors, and shippers.
We are here to help.
Measure to Improve can provide support and help you confidently respond to Buyer Surveys from Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and others. We can also help you get ahead of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) certification deadline.
Warmest Regards,
Nikki Cossio - Founder & CEO - Measure to Improve
Are You IPM Ready?
Retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Whole Foods are beginning to require produce suppliers to implement IPM practices in their operations.
Walmart was the first U.S. food retailer to adopt a time-bound commitment to expand ecological farming methods in its supply chain and is requiring its suppliers to adopt these practices and become third-party certified by 2025. Kroger has adopted a similar policy requiring large-sized growers to achieve third-party certification by 2028 and small growers to become certified by 2030.
As more retailers globally begin to follow suit, it will be important for growers to have a robust IPM program in place and become certified.
Check out our take on how growers can be at the forefront of these efforts and remain competitive in a crowded marketplace.
Benefits of a Buyer Survey Program?
Retailers are collecting information from their suppliers to understand and market the sustainability of their products. Some buyers are even beginning to make purchasing decisions based on supplier responses. These requests are driven by growing consumer demand for sustainable products.
While filling out sustainability surveys can be burdensome, there are some major advantages, including:
Making progress toward preferred supplier status with buyers
Opening up opportunities to set goals, track progress, and showcase sustainability achievements
Streamline the reporting process
Building an on-ramp to telling your sustainability story
Developing a better understanding of your sustainability practices and business opportunities
Credibly and confidently make sustainability claims
We can help you streamline your data collection efforts and confidently report to buyer surveys! Learn more about our Buyer Survey Support service.
Image Credit: Walmart Sustainability Hub
Walmart Sustainability Reporting To Open With New Requirements
While Walmart has not yet announced the date the Sustainability Portal will open, we anticipate that the portal will become available shortly after Labor Day (September 2) and close shortly after Halloween (October 31).
As in previous years, Walmart has made some updates to the portal. Most notably, Walmart has increased the difficulty of achieving Giga-Guru and Sparking Change status, adding requirements around reporting your company’s renewable energy consumption percentage, absolute reduction targets, and relevant scope 3 emissions.
Read more about the evolving Giga-Guru requirements at the article below.
Field Update: Soil Sampling
Measure to Improve spent the last week of May collecting baseline soil samples across almond ranches in Colusa and Yolo counties. We had a packed itinerary meeting with Henderson Farms Inc. and their clients who are participating in our USDA Climate Smart Commodities grant project “A Vibrant Future”.
We received a warm welcome and got straight to work sampling deep diverse soils rich with history and agricultural production. Soils of silty clay, clay loams, and sandy loams we all sampled, bagged, boxed up, and shipped to Cornell Soil Health Lab for analysis.
The results will take 6-8 weeks and provide growers valuable baseline soil data as they begin a four-year journey implementing conservation practices on their orchards.
We are excited to see what nutrient management techniques, materials, and soil carbon amendments applied will yield in this region and how it will affect these soils and cropping systems. We wish these growers luck and prosperity this season as they look forward to developing their crops and bringing in the 2024 almond harvest.
MTI Team Update
Our team member, Gabe Worthington went through his graduation ceremony at California State University Chico on May 15. He earned a M.S degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Regenerative Agriculture.
Prior to attending CSU Chico, he attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where he received his degree in Environmental, Earth, and Soil Sciences with minors in Water Science and Sustainable Environments.
“This degree taught me about data and project management as well as the importance of paying attention to detail and has been integral to my work at Measure to Improve. My MS degree will be valuable in implementing the USDA Climate Smart Commodities “Vibrant Futures” program as I continue to apply knowledge I’ve learned from my degree to growers’ operations."
Congratulations Gabe, we are so happy you are part of this team!