Who We Are

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform is the main food industry initiative supporting the development of sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Food industries are the biggest purchasers of agricultural raw materials. In order to rely on a constant, increasing and safe supply of agricultural raw materials, these must be grown in a sustainable manner. In 2002 Nestlé, Unilever and Danone created the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, a non-profit organization to facilitate sharing, at precompetitive level, of knowledge and initiatives to support the development and implementation of sustainable agriculture practices involving the different stakeholders of the food chain.

The SAI Platform today counts over 30 members, which actively share the same view on sustainable agriculture seen as a "productive, competitive and efficient way to produce agricultural products, while at the same time protecting and improving the natural environment and social/economic conditions of local communities".

Among the latest services and deliverables produced, the SAI Platform published Principles and Practices for the Sustainable production of Arable and vegetable Crops, Coffee, Dairy and Fruit; a Benchmark Study of Agriculture Standards and a Short Guide to Sustainable Agriculture. The Platform also organized two conferences in Brussels and one in Washington on sustainable agriculture. It carried out seminars on water management, on certification schemes, and on organic vs. sustainable agriculture. It commissioned studies on green house gas measurement in dairy production, on carbon and water footprint of fruit production, on cost and benefits of sustainable green coffee production.

Unique Characteristics:

1. SAI Platform is the only global food industry initiative for sustainable agriculture.
2. It seeks involvement from all food chain stakeholders willing to play an active role in the development, recognition and implementation of sustainable practices for mainstream agriculture.
3. The initiative gathers and develops knowledge on sustainable agriculture, which it then shares with all interested parties to reach common understanding of the concept and of its long-term implications.
4. It has an inclusive approach, taking into account any valuable initiatives and concepts, for instance elements from both integrated and organic farming, as far as they contribute to sustainable agriculture.
5. It aims at developing sustainable agriculture for the mainstream agricultural produce through a continuous improvement process that allows for an easier and more flexible adoption by farmers, worldwide.

Click here to go to the governance page.

SAI Platform also has an Australian chapter.