Nearly one in five food industry representatives do not monitor or measure the sustainability of the food products they source, according to a new survey.

The Driving Sustainability report, from LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) launched yesterday, provides a unique insight into the challenges facing farmers and the food industry in producing sustainable food.  It surveyed nearly 1,000 representatives from across the food industry and questioned more than 150 LEAF farmers about how they are addressing sustainability.

The results show that while 82 per cent of the food industry representatives agree sustainability is very important to their company, one in five (19 per cent) do not monitor or measure the sustainability of food products they source. However, the good news for the farming industry is that 67 per cent of respondents agreed that if they were in charge of procurement for their company, they would pay a premium for sustainably produced food or ingredients.

Farmers surveyed believe consumer demand will be the most influential in shaping the future sustainability of the farming industry over the next five years (31%), followed by agri-environmental financial incentives (22%) and the farming industry itself (17%). Just ten per cent thought that this would be driven by retailers.

Caroline Drummond, MBE and chief executive of LEAF said: “This research shows that it is becoming increasingly important for farmers to demonstrate and measure how sustainable their business is. Not only does it help provide market opportunities, but it can also increase productivity. Sustainability doesn’t just refer to the environment; it also means ensuring farming businesses are financially sustainable as well . This new report establishes a base point from which the food and farming industry can measure progress in the development of sustainable farming.”