Measuring Whole-Farm Outcomes

Our food and farming systems have a profound influence on the health of people, nature and the climate. While modern agricultural practices have contributed to challenges such as greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, water pollution and disrupted nutrient cycles, farming also has enormous potential to regenerate natural systems and strengthen resilient rural economies. As Professor Johan Rockström has observed, “A transition to sustainable agriculture and forestry is a fundamental prerequisite to succeed.” Realising this transition, however, requires overcoming significant barriers that prevent farmers, businesses, policymakers and investors from recognising, measuring and rewarding sustainable outcomes.

One of the greatest barriers to change is the absence of a common framework for assessing the sustainability of farming systems. Although many farm assurance schemes, sustainability standards and assessment tools exist, they often focus on specific issues or serve particular purposes. This can lead to duplication, inconsistent reporting and a fragmented picture of farm performance, making it difficult for farmers, businesses, policymakers, investors and consumers to compare outcomes or make informed decisions.

The Sustainable Food Alliance supports the development and adoption of holistic approaches to farm sustainability assessment that recognise the interconnected nature of environmental, social, economic and health outcomes. By creating a shared language for measuring whole-farm performance, these approaches can reduce reporting burdens, improve decision-making and enable data to be used across multiple purposes – from farm management and supply chains to public policy, research and sustainable finance.

Rather than encouraging compliance with a single standard, the goal is to create a common framework that can bring together existing initiatives, reward continuous improvement and recognise progress wherever farmers are on their sustainability journey. Such a framework can support more effective public policy, strengthen market incentives and help direct investment towards farming systems that deliver long-term value for people, nature and the economy.

Through its grant-making activities, the Sustainable Food Alliance supports initiatives such as the Global Farm Metric, a whole-farm sustainability framework that enables farmers and the wider food system to understand and improve sustainability across multiple interconnected outcomes. By providing a practical and scientifically robust framework for measuring what matters, the Global Farm Metric helps farmers, businesses, financial institutions, researchers and policymakers work towards a more resilient and regenerative food system.