YOUR INDUSTRY
ENVIRONMENTAL ADD-ON ENCOURAGES ONGOING IMPROVEMENT Words by Kristine Walsh
It is hoped that composting vegetable by-product will provide a better way of minimising synthetic additives while restoring nutrient content to the soil, says LeaderBrand general manager for food safety and quality – Stefan Stewart
After years of working to lighten its environmental footprint, a Gisborne grower and food production company have welcomed the introduction of a tool to measure progress and ensure compliance within a changing regulatory framework. A year ago, LeaderBrand signed up for the Environmental Management System (EMS) add-on that is designed, certified and audited by NZGAP (New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice). It is a module already accepted by Environment Canterbury as a stand-in for local body reviews of Farm Environment Plans (FEPs). Gisborne District Council is also seeking to formally recognise the EMS once they have confidence in the audit processes via observations. And that is particularly important in LeaderBrand's home region where, from 1 May 2021, FEPs have been compulsory for any farm that grows annual crops or commercial vegetables, or intensively farms animals. “Because of the work done looking at our impact on the environment, we were already well underway on our FEP last year when we were introduced to the NZGAP EMS
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template, and we liked it,” says LeaderBrand general manager for food safety and quality, Stefan Stewart, who has worked at LeaderBrand for five years. “What was particularly attractive was how it lays out your environmental plan, helping you flesh out things you are already doing and laying it out in front of you in a clear and logical manner.
Subscribing to the add-on was not entirely new territory for LeaderBrand, which has for 17 years used the NZGAP GLOBALG.A.P. Equivalent food safety certification system “Even better, it acknowledges that you aren't going to have all the answers and allows you to outline what your plans for improvement are and what you are doing to achieve those aims. “It has an approach of continuous improvement rather than looking at your FEP as 'one and done'.”
