Developing a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Framework

There is no question that Canada is one of the most sustainable producers of food in the world. Our abundance of land, rainfed agriculture and the adoption of best practices such as zero-till and variable rate nutrient application puts us ahead of the curve when it comes to lessening the environmental impact of our agrifood industry. However, to take our agriculture sector and competitiveness further, we need to be able to report and verify our emissions and environmental sustainability. To do that, we need to develop a scalable, measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework.

An MRV framework is necessary to quantifying environmental outcomes of agriculture practices, as well as to provide companies with the necessary data to report these outcomes as part of their Scope 3 emissions inventory. Being able to measure and support our claims regarding carbon emissions is key to furthering our sector and contributing to our national emission reduction goals. That is why Protein Industries Canada is committed to working alongside industry to build and deploy a proof-of-concept MRV system to support the plant-based ingredient value chain.

Protein Industries Canada is committed to working with industry to build an MRV that will:

• provide trusted carbon emission and intensity data to protein ingredient makers and downstream value chain partners;
• provide carbon benchmarking tool for participating growers that can help to drive emissions reductions on-farm and in the value chain; and
• Support the implementation and measurement of practice change impacts;

The development of an MRV framework is key to securing Canada’s position as a low-carbon economy and provider of ingredients and food. And while necessary, there is a lot to consider. An MRV framework needs to work for multiple crops, and different sized operations and consider the multiple factors that need to be measured. When considering the potential scope of an MRV Framework, Protein Industries Canada believes that the way to move forward is to start with the development of a proof of concept MRV system that measures carbon intensity in peas. Once that is developed, the framework can be scaled up for use in other crops, added sustainability metrics and additional steps in the value chain. Limiting the scope will allow the project to move forward in a timely manner, while also bringing benefit to Canada’s plant-based ingredient value chain. Protein Industries Canada is committed to working with industry on the creation, implementation, and adoption of an MRV framework in order to create more value for the entire ecosystem. To share your thoughts on an MRV system or for more information, please click the button below.