Climate Bonds Standard Expands to Alternative Proteins: Setting Best Practice Standards to Drive Investment and Accelerate Agri-Food Transition

Climate Bonds Standard Expands to Alternative Proteins: Setting Best Practice Standards to Drive Investment and Accelerate Agri-Food Transition

The Climate Bonds Standard is expanding to include the fast-growing sector of alternative proteins, marking a crucial advancement in addressing the rising demand for sustainable food solutions in response to global population growth. This development is a key step in transforming food systems for a more resilient future. To create robust criteria for alternative proteins, the Climate Bonds Initiative has convened Technical and Industrial Working Groups to establish rigorous best practice standards. This initiative aims to unlock investment opportunities and accelerate the agri-food transition towards more sustainable and innovative protein sources.

Tackling Food Systems' Impact

Livestock agriculture is a major driver of global greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss, contributing approximately 60% of emissions from the food system and 12-20% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Despite their considerable environmental footprint, animal source foods provide only 17% of the world's calories and 38% of its protein. With projections indicating a 50% increase in global meat consumption by 2050, the urgency to address these impacts cannot be overstated.

Alternative proteins, encompassing plant-based options like beans and tofu, as well as innovative solutions such as cultivated meat, offer a viable pathway to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of our food systems. The new criteria will establish essential production best practice standards and procurement guidelines for alternative protein producers, food retailers and other stakeholders. These guidelines will ensure alignment with a 1.5°C climate pathway, paving the way for access to credible green finance and fostering sustainable growth within the sector. This expansion of the Climate Bonds Standard to include alternative proteins is a decisive step towards aligning the agri-food sector with global climate objectives, guiding investments towards sustainable practices, supporting the greening of the financial sector, and fostering a climate-resilient future.

Focus Areas: Comprehensive and Impactful

The Alternative Proteins Criteria will focus on two primary areas:

1. Substitution of Animal Source Foods: Promoting the production and consumption of lower-impact alternative proteins to replace high-impact animal source foods, with a particular emphasis on ruminant meats like beef, which have the highest carbon and land footprints.
2. Mitigation of Alternative Protein Impacts: Reducing emissions associated with alternative protein production by focusing on renewable energy use, low impact raw materials sourcing, and effective waste management.

These criteria will prioritise climate and land-use impact while also addressing other environmental concerns such as water pollution. By aligning with existing standards and recent policy developments, the criteria aim to drive substantial progress towards food supply chains that safeguard both climate and biodiversity.

Introducing the Technical and Industrial Working Group

The development of these criteria is supported by a distinguished Technical Working Group (TWG) and the Industrial Working Group (IWG), composed of experts from diverse fields. Each member contributes to their personal capacity, providing critical insights to ensure the criteria are robust and comprehensive.

The Last Word

The Climate Bonds Standard aims to address various aspects of the agri-food sector to facilitate its transition. This includes crop and livestock production, deforestation and conversion-free sourcing, sustainability across value chains, and alternative proteins. By directing investments towards these areas, the goal is to develop a climate-resilient food system that protects biodiversity and aligns with global climate objectives. This expansion builds on the Agri-Food Programme’s work, including the upcoming certification for the Agri-Food Deforestation and Conversion-Free Sourcing Criteria and Agriculture Criteria, underscoring a commitment to fostering sustainable agri-food systems that contribute to a net-zero future.

Acknowledging the efforts of the technical working group, we invite others interested in participating to contact us at agrifoodstandards@climatebonds.net. For more information and to participate in the public consultation process, please visit our website or contact our team members.

‘Til Next Time,

Climate Bonds.