The development of a harmonised set of minimum criteria for the assessment of sustainable action by agricultural enterprises in key business sectors.Focus on farms with milk production, arable farming and pig farming

Background and Objective

In the production, processing and marketing of food, sustainable and responsible business practices have been receiving increasing attention for years. Against the backdrop of this nationally and internationally visible increase in the importance of sustainability, the "MinKriSet" project aims to develop a scientifically based, widely recognised and coordinated minimum set of criteria for the evaluation of sustainable action by agricultural enterprises. The focus will be on farms with dairy, arable and pig production systems.

In close cooperation with the project partner DLG, which maintains close contacts with practitioners, and through the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, a "minimum criteria set for sustainability" with an associated measurement and evaluation system is to be developed that is suitable for achieving the following sub-goals:

• Establish a common and scientifically sound understanding of what constitutes sustainable agriculture and which minimum set of sustainability criteria (economic, ecological, social and, to some extent, animal welfare) can reflect this.
• To contribute to the harmonisation and thus standardisation of existing sustainability assessment systems and at the same time provide the basis for new developments.
• To contribute to the simplification of data provision, because data sources and interfaces are presented within the catalogue of criteria to be developed.
• To provide a basis for the development of a recognition framework that regulates the functioning of the minimum criteria catalogue, such as the content and quality of the criteria, measurement parameters, measurement methods, update intervals, etc. in the sense of an institutional setting.
• Explain the extent to which the criteria are suitable for sustainability consulting and training, sustainability certification, remuneration or product labelling.

When developing the minimum criteria set, the international compatibility and future requirements of the EU taxonomy, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Supply Chain Sustainability Act (LkSG) and other requirements must also be taken into account. In addition, organic farming must also be taken into account when developing criteria, for example with regard to animal welfare requirements. In principle, the minimum criteria should be designed in such a way that they incentivise agricultural businesses to develop further in the area of sustainability. However, it should be noted that a particular sustainability performance can only be certified if the operation is significantly above the legal standard.

Data on the sustainability dimensions of ecology, economy, social aspects and animal welfare are required to assess the sustainability of agricultural businesses. This data can be collected either through self-disclosure by the farm manager (e.g. on the basis of digital accounting, FMIS), through on-site observations (e.g. proportion of lame cows) or through measurements (e.g. hectares of semi-natural areas). The collection and consolidation of data is generally not yet automated, as the level of digitalisation in agricultural businesses continues to vary greatly. The development of suitable solutions is a challenge within the framework of MinKriSet.

Approach

In order to take equal account of scientific requirements and practical needs, the planned project is to be implemented jointly by the Thünen Institute of Farm Economics and the German Agricultural Society (DLG), with the Thünen Institute taking on the management and coordination. Project communication and knowledge transfer will take place in close coordination between the project partners.

The project is divided into the following 4 work phases:

• Requirements analysis,
• Prioritisation of criteria for a minimum set and determination of data requirements,
• Evaluation of the criteria set as part of multi-stakeholder workshops,
• Description of the minimum criteria developed for the relevant target groups.

The following methods are used:

• Literature and internet research,
• Interviews,
• Interviews, surveys of experts and
• workshops.

As a result, an agreed catalogue of criteria with evaluation options and descriptive fact sheets will be presented.