LEAF opens final round of public consultation on its environmental assurance standard

The online consultation is now open and will run until the 29 November 2024.

This is the second, and final, opportunity for stakeholders to offer their expertise, and to help make decisions on the proposed changes to the latest version of the LEAF marque standard.

An early-stage public consultation on the standard took place between March and May this year. Based on feedback, LEAF has launched a final round of public consultation to agree on the proposed changes. The new Standard is expected to be published in September 2025 and come into effect in March 2026.

Key areas of the LEAF marque standard have been developed following the first public consultation to embed advanced control points aligned to specific areas of sustainable farm management.

These include:

• Regenerative agricultural practices
• Habitat area
• Water management
• Livestock management
• Protected cropping
• Nutrient management
• Crop planning
• Rented land
• Peat

Andrew Francis, chair, LEAF marque technical committee, past LEAF demonstration farmer and managing director of Home Farm Nacton, Ipswich said: “LEAF is a listening organisation. We work hard to understand and meet evolving expectations for more sustainable farming, whilst maintaining an assurance system that is also practical, accessible and science-based.

“Determining advanced measures as control points to substantiate intervention on regenerative farming is difficult.

“We have therefore thought carefully about what these controls need to look like to ensure they are both pragmatic and applicable across a range of farming systems both in the UK and globally.

“We welcome constructive stakeholder engagement and dialogue and urge all our members, stakeholders and partners to get involved with our consultation process.

“Third-party scrutiny and stakeholder engagement are central to our values and our commitment to respond to the constantly evolving field of sustainable farming.

“By honouring this commitment, we can maintain our world-leading standards.”

Abbey Holman, standards and impacts manager at LEAF added: “LEAF periodically reviews and updates its standard to ensure its environmental assurance system remains relevant to stakeholders and represents widely agreed, international best practice.

“Since the initial v17.0 public consultation, we have revised the standard to improve the clarity of the requirements, reduce duplication, and improve the applicability of the requirements for more complex business contexts, including producer groups, rented land and protected cropping.

“This is an opportunity for everyone we engage with to have their say on the future direction of LEAF marque and, more broadly, the global transition to more sustainable, climate positive farming practices.”

How to take part in the consultation

The second round of public consultation is now open and closes on 29 November 2024. To get involved please click here. A series of webinars are currently running, themed around the core areas of the Integrated Farm Management framework, which underpin the LEAF Marque Standard. The LEAF Marque team will explain the main changes proposed across the Standard and provide an extra opportunity for feedback. To register, please click here

LEAF is also offering the chance to win a £100 Amazon gift card for those completing the online survey.

Reviews are managed by the LEAF marque technical advisory committee and the LEAF executive on behalf of the board of trustees. This is in line with established international guidelines, such as those published by ISEAL and include extensive multi-stakeholder engagement and consultation.