b'SEEDS CANADA / SEEDS-CANADA.CA / SUSTAINABILITY ISNT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALLWE SET OUT TO BUILD A SUSTAINABILITY GUIDE.WHAT HAPPENED SURPRISED USAFTER MUCH HARDwork, were proud to unveil themeetings, and engaged members both informally and Seeds Canada Guide to Sustainable Seed. formally to get their thoughts.When I first picked up this project, I knew itIn November 2024, we kicked off a more struc-would be bigbut Ill be honest, it ended up beingtured pre-consultation with about 15 members across even bigger than I originally thought. And really,different parts of the seed sector. when youre talking about sustainability, how could itBy January, we opened the consultation process be anything else?wider, sending the document out through member Sustainability touches everything, stirs a lot ofalerts and hosting a series of 90-minute online ses-opinions, and demands that we synthesize a hugesions, section by section, where we invited open Nicholasamount of good work being done by a lot of peoplediscussion. Stratford,across the sector. Its been a five-month process of constant conver-Policy and GovernmentThe document weve put together is 17 pages longsation, revision and refinement. And honestly, thats Relations and even after all that effort to keep it as clear andexactly what it needed to be.Coordinator concise as possible, its still a lot. But thats because theFrom the beginning, the document was intended story of sustainability in the seed sector is a big one. to celebrate the work our members are already doing This all really began before my time with Seeds not tell anyone what they should be doing. Our Canada. Back in 2023, Director of Policy Laurenmembers emphasized this strongly during consultations. Comin unveiled an early sustainability document toAlso, we needed to define sustainability broadly.our members. There was a lot of excitementpeopleOur members pointed outrightlythat sus-were interested, intrigued by what a sustainabilitytainability isnt just environmental. We expanded the resource could look like for our sector. Coming out ofguide to explicitly highlight three key pillars: those early conversations, a few big things were clear:Environmental sustainabilityhow we care for First, members wanted a one-stop shop docu- the land, air, and water.mentsomething that captured the various sustain- Economic sustainabilityensuring businesses ability efforts happening across the seed sector in onecan remain viable and thrive.place. They wanted a tool that wasnt theoretical butSocial sustainabilitysupporting people, com-rooted in what was happening on the ground. munities, and livelihoods.Second, there was an understanding that theBut heres what I really want to stress: this isnt the document needed to reflect our members. It had to befinish line.built with their input, to serve their needs. This guide is a living document. Its a starting When I joined Seeds Canada in January 2024, itpoint. Its a tool for our members to usewhether felt like a natural fit to jump into the sustainabilitythats to inform customers, talk to policymakers, file. My academic background is in sustainable devel- guide internal discussions, or spark new initiatives.opment, so it made sense for me to work alongsideIf exciting and new practices emerge, well update Lauren, picking up where she left off and pushingthe Guide. If members want to expand on specific this project forward. topics, well dig deeper. From the start, it was important to me that theThis project has reminded me that the strength of guide wasnt just about our membersit was forSeeds Canada is our memberstheir passion, their them, and built by them. That meant a long, detailedinsight, and their commitment to building a stronger, consultation process. more sustainable future.Whenever I attended an eventwhether itIm proud of what weve built together. And Im was the Seeds Canada annual meeting, seed growereven more excited for whats still to come. meetings, the Canadian Crop Convention, Canadian Agri-Food in a Sustainable World or any other gathering where members were presentI made it a point to talk to as many stakeholders as possibleTo view the Guide to Sustainable Seed upon its release, stay tuned to about this document. I built lists, scheduled Zoomseeds-canada.ca6SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADAJULY 2025'