USSEC Launches Official Sustainability Certification for Exporters of U.S. Soy
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USSEC recently launched an official sustainability certification for U.S. soy which provides exporters with verification that the soy products they sell on the world market are raised in a sustainable manner. This certification is verified by the U.S. Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) which was developed by USSEC, the United Soybean Board (USB), and the American Soybean Association (ASA) through a multi-stakeholder process to ensure the methodologies for measuring sustainable performance are thorough, transparent and credible. The creation of the SSAP and its official sustainability certification for exported soy products is a strategic move by the U.S. soy family to assure international customers that U.S. farmers raise soybeans with high sustainability performance. The SSAP provides proof of reductions in carbon emissions, energy use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil erosion per acre of soybeans grown and per bushel of soybeans produced in the United States. Certification is done at shipment point by Soy Export Sustainability, LLC, based on an aggregate system representing nationwide soybean production. According to USSSEC, 95 percent of U.S. farms currently participate.
"It is essential that we show the rest of the world what we are doing with regard to best management practices on the farm and best social practices in the community," said Laura Foell, USB Director, who recently visited four countries in Europe to promote and discuss the SSAP. USSEC, USB and ASA will continue to introduce their sustainability assurance protocol and sustainability certification system through a series of meetings around the world throughout the fall. Besides the visit to Europe, the U.S. soy family will also travel to Turkey and the U.S. soy farmers' largest market, China.
To learn more about the U.S. Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol, visit www.ussec2016.wpengine.com/ssap