John Saul LEAF cauliflower

LEAF has launched a public consultation on its new LEAF Marque Standard to hear people’s views on its relevance, feasibility and auditability.

Having published a draft of version 16.0, the environmental certification body wants to hear from its members, farmers, growers, academics, fellow NGOs, members of the public and other stakeholders.

The consultation period opened on 17 November and runs until 17 January 2022. Both condensed and detailed versions of thesurveycan be completed online, and feedback can also be submitted by email tojenna.higgins@leaf.eco, by phone (+44 2476 413911), or in writing.

Lucy Redmore, assurance manager at LEAF said: “We are committed to listening, adapting and continually improving. Obtaining stakeholder feedback is an essential part of revising our LEAF Marque Standard.

“This consultation provides a great opportunity to help shape the future direction of the LEAF Marque Standard v16.0, as well as influence how the agricultural sector delivers more sustainable, regenerative, nature-based global farming and food systems.”

In addition to the survey,LEAF is running three webinarsto explain the main changes proposed, as well as providing an opportunity for feedback. To register, click the links below:

24 November at 2.30pm (GMT):Carbon & Plastics:Industry Questions and Farmer-Based Solutions

16 December at 2.30pm (GMT):Water, Collaborative Action, and Landscape Scale Changes

10 January at 10:30am:Standard Relevance:Writing a Standard for a global and varied industry

To gather feedback from a wide range of global stakeholders, the surveys and summaries of changes are available in English,French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Egyptian Arabic.

If replying in writing, you should include your name, country, stakeholder group and contact details to:LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), Avenue J, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, UKCV8 2LGfor the attention of Jenna Higgins.

More information on the LEAF Marque Standard v16.0 Draft and how to get involved in the consultation can be foundhere.