SAI Platform Alignment

Field to Market and SAI Platform launched a joint Equivalency Module in 2017, which enables U.S. farmers utilizing Field to Market’s Fieldprint® Platform to fulfill the requirements of SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA). The Equivalency Module, first piloted by leading food companies in 2019, provides greater efficiency in measuring and assessing the sustainability performance of their supply chains through improved alignment between the foremost agricultural sustainability initiatives worldwide.

Since June of 2023, Field to Market has achieved Gold Level Equivalence against SAI Platform’s FSA 3.0, which is the highest possible rating. This will enable users of the Field to Market’s Fieldprint® Platform to fulfill the requirements of SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) by completing a 22-question module.

What the FSA is and how it relates to Fieldprint

The Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) is a global tool developed by SAI Platform that food and drink companies use to assess, improve, and validate on-farm sustainability in their supply chains. It covers environmental, social, and economic practices and is used by brands and retailers worldwide as a common reference point for sourcing decisions.

The Fieldprint® Platform has been benchmarked against the FSA and is aligned to FSA Gold Level. That benchmarking result applies to the Fieldprint Platform itself — the outcomes-based sustainability indicators a grower calculates for each crop interval already cover the content areas the FSA cares about. However, FSA requires specific verification procedures to sit behind the content, and benchmarking alone does not meet those verification requirements. That is what the 22-question Equivalency Module is for.

Aligned vs. Equivalent

SAI Platform distinguishes between two benchmarking outcomes:

• Aligned: the scheme’s content meets FSA requirements, but additional verification is needed before FSA claims can be attached to a product.
• Equivalent: verification is part of the standard and meets or exceeds FSA minimum requirements. FSA claims can be attached to product.

The Fieldprint Platform itself is aligned to FSA Gold Level. Growers who also complete the 22-question Equivalency Module and go through the required verification can reach verified FSA Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

Who uses the FSA Equivalency Module

The Equivalency Module is most often used when a buyer in your Fieldprint Project — a brand, retailer, or ingredient processor — wants FSA-verified sourcing from the region your project covers. In that situation, completing the 22 questions is part of how the project demonstrates FSA performance alongside the environmental metrics already produced by the Fieldprint Platform.

If your project does not have an FSA-facing supply chain partner, you generally do not need to use the Equivalency Module. It is an optional, project-level add-on.

How performance levels are determined

Each of the 22 questions is weighted across three tiers — Essential, Intermediate, and Advanced — with a total of 35 Essential points, 77 Intermediate points, and 22 Advanced points available. The performance level is determined by the share of points earned in each tier:

Essential points are the foundation: a grower cannot reach Bronze without earning 100% of them. Essential points are driven largely by Question 1 (compliance with laws), and by the combination of Question 1 with a handful of other Yes answers. That is why compliance with applicable laws and regulations is the first and most important question on the module.

Reporting and claims

FSA Equivalency results are intended to be reported at the project level, not the individual grower level. When your project reports FSA performance to a supply chain partner, results are aggregated across participating growers for that project and reporting year. Please note that FSA SAI and Fieldprint Platform claims are different and have different requirements.

The claims a Field to Market member can make depend on whether the module has been completed and verified:

• With completion of the Equivalency Module and no verification, Field to Market users will be able to achieve FSA Bronze, Silver, or Gold Level Alignment after completing questions within Field to Market’s Fieldprint Platform and answering up to 22 additional questions.
• With completion of the Equivalency Module and required verification, Field to Market members can make volume-based FSA claims at the Bronze, Silver, or Gold level achieved. Example: “Our corn is verified at FSA Silver level using the Field to Market’s Fieldprint® Platform FSA Equivalency Module,” or “This product comes from FSA verified sources.”

For the full claims language rules, see the FSA Benchmarking 2024 attachment below and SAI Platform’s Guide to FSA Statements and Claims.

Learn more

You can learn more about FSA benchmarking and our partnership with SAI Platform in the attachments below. For additional context on how this alignment fits alongside our other partnerships, see the Strategic Partnerships section on our main website. For questions about enabling FSA for your project or completing the questionnaire, contact support@fieldtomarket.org.

Related articles

• Completing the SAI FSA Questionnaire (data entry walkthrough for growers)
• Fieldprint API — /v5/SAICalculator (for QDMPs integrating FSA into their own platforms)
• Fieldprint Project Claims
• Enabling FSA for a Fieldprint Project