NPR - A FIRST INDUSTRY SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT FOR THE CANADIAN SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS ASSOCIATION USING THE FAO SAFA GUIDELINES

Abstract:

This contribution is about using a recent FAO’s initiative as a way to structure and organize the sustainability efforts engaged by organisations operating in the agri-food sector. Specifically it presents the case study of the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), which was among the first organizations having participated to the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) pilot project in 2012-2013. This SAFA initiative aims at supporting “the implementation of effective sustainability management and communication in the agriculture and food sector, worldwide” by leveraging the existing “sustainable development tool box”, from the GRI Guidelines to the ISO standards on LCA 14040-14044. This presentation shows how the CSPMA capitalised on social and environmental LCA results, as well as on their involvement in a sustainability certification scheme, to publish their first Industry Social Responsibility (ISR) report. This contribution highlights the methodological and strategic potential from linking together a LCA-based diagnosis to a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting framework such as SAFA to move the management of an industry, both at the association and company levels, into a socially responsible perspective. This case study reveals how an organisation from the agri-food sector succeeded in transforming a sustainability challenge into an opportunity to foster sustainable growth.

Keywords: Sphagnum Peat Moss, corporate social responsibility, SAFA, sustainability reporting, strategic planning