The seed industry has published a voluntary guide to sustainability, not to impose new rules, but to shape the narrative before others do. It’s both a defensive measure and a diplomatic tool.
At a time when sustainability reporting has become either a regulatory burden or a branding exercise, Canada’s seed industry has taken a different tack. Rather than waiting for the federal government — or foreign buyers — to dictate the terms, it has decided to write its own.
The result is The Guide to Sustainable Seed, a new publication unveiled yesterday by Seeds Canada at its annual conference in Quebec City. Ostensibly, the guide is a catalogue of the sector’s efforts across environmental, social and economic dimensions. But beneath its unassuming title lies a quiet attempt to seize control of a narrative that is increasingly being defined by those outside the agricultural fold.
“This is not a checklist. It is not a standard,” said Nick Stratford, Seeds Canada’s policy and government relations coordinator, and the guide’s de facto architect. “It is a starting point.”
Stratford, who joined the organization in early 2024 and holds a master’s degree in sustainable development from the University of Sussex, approaches agriculture as an outsider. His introduction at the conference — self-deprecating, pop-culture infused, and peppered with gentle jabs at bureaucracy — belied the seriousness of the task at hand: constructing a coherent, sector-led framework for sustainability that avoids the twin perils of greenwashing and regulatory overreach.
From Consultation to Codification
The guide’s origins stretch back to 2023, when Seeds Canada released a draft sustainability action plan and sought input from its members. The response was instructive. Stakeholders made it clear that the association should be more visible in national and international discussions on sustainability, but also that it should avoid duplicating the efforts of better-resourced or more technically focused organisations. In short: represent, don’t reinvent.
The message also had a philosophical bent. Members wanted a tool for celebration and communication, not enforcement. “This isn’t about new rules,” said Stratford. “It’s about making visible what already exists.”
That approach mirrors a broader Canadian sentiment in agriculture. Farmers and agribusinesses are often wary of top-down sustainability initiatives, especially those perceived to be imported wholesale from European frameworks ill-suited to the realities of prairie fields or the economics of crop rotation.
What emerged over the following year was an extensive process of member consultation: curated one-on-one discussions, working groups, email reviews, and engagement sessions covering every part of the seed value chain. The resulting document is structured into four main sections: plant breeding, seed production, seed conditioning, and seed retail. Each outlines the key processes involved, highlights sustainable practices, and provides “carve-outs” on environmental, social, and economic considerations.
From marker-assisted selection and genome sequencing to water efficiency in seed processing, the guide walks a line between technical specificity and policy accessibility. Its intended audience is everyone from members of Parliament to ag-tech startups to customers wondering what “green” means in agriculture.
The Risks of Vagueness, the Rewards of Flexibility
The guide’s breadth is both a strength and a vulnerability. It does not contain metrics. It does not benchmark. It does not impose. But for a sector as heterogeneous as seed — spanning family farms, biotech firms, co-operatives and multinational input providers — such flexibility may be the only workable starting point. “We wanted this to be usable by all members,” Stratford noted. “Whether you’re an early adopter or someone just starting to formalize your sustainability thinking.”
Indeed, part of the guide’s value lies in its ability to expose gaps. Several participants remarked that simply seeing the industry’s efforts laid out in one document highlighted what was missing. The intention, Stratford explained, is for the guide to be iterative. Future editions may drill deeper into areas such as biodiversity metrics, labour practices, or the lifecycle impact of new seed treatments. In theory, this allows the document to evolve in lockstep with both science and policy.
A Pre-Emptive Strike in the Regulatory Arms Race
Timing matters. Canada’s recent election, and the expected realignment of ministerial portfolios, creates a narrow window in which industry groups can help shape the sustainability agenda before it is imposed on them. Ottawa has signalled that its focus in the coming years will be on catalysing private investment while pursuing growth aligned with climate goals. The seed sector, Stratford argued, is well-placed to contribute on both fronts—provided it is understood.
“Seed is upstream,” he told attendees. “Everything else flows from it. If we can tell that story properly — environmentally, socially, economically — we help strengthen the entire agriculture narrative.”
One practical benefit of the guide, therefore, is its use as a policy engagement tool. It enables conversations with regulators that are less defensive and more constructive. And it arms firms — particularly smaller operations — with a resource they can show to partners or customers seeking ESG credentials, without having to build a reporting apparatus from scratch.
As one seed grower and processor, put it during the Q&A: “I knew the day was coming when someone would ask for a sustainability report. The guide helped me be ready.”
Download the sustainability guide here.
