The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has unveiled a new initiative to reduce the environmental impacts of global food production, while addressing the rising demand for food in international markets. The proposed framework, called Codex Planetarius, sets global performance standards for food production, targeting the least efficient producers to minimize environmental degradation.

Developed by WWF’s Markets Institute, the Codex Planetarius aims to address environmental challenges posed by global food production and trade. The system identifyies key environmental impacts, creating standardized metrics, and informing international guidelines to foster global cooperation in the food industry. Jason Clay, Senior Vice President at WWF and Executive Director of the Markets Institute, emphasized the need for a system to balance food security with environmental protection. “By using standards to address the most significant environmental impacts of food production, we can help to ensure food security and protect the global food trade,” Clay explained, noting that the growing impacts of climate change make this work even more crucial for future generations.

WWF has highlighted that food production is the most environmentally damaging human activity on the planet. According to Codex Planetarius, it is responsible for 70 percent of habitat and biodiversity loss, 78 percent of water pollution, and 35 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. These environmental consequences are projected to worsen, as the climate crisis could reduce global agricultural yields by up to 30 percent by 2050. Clay also pointed out that rising population levels, increasing incomes, and shifts in dietary patterns are putting additional pressure on natural landscapes, limiting their capacity to regenerate.

The core strategy of Codex Planetarius is to focus on the least efficient producers – those responsible for the majority of environmental harm. Clay explained that, for decades, voluntary environmental standards have targeted the best-performing producers but have failed to reduce the global impact of food production. “The worst performers – those causing the most damage – have been left out of the conversation,” Clay said. These low efficiency producers, who account for 60-80 percent of environmental degradation but produce less than 10 percent of food, will now be the focus of Codex Planetarius.

To address this disparity, Codex Planetarius aims to establish uniform, globally accepted standards for measuring and managing the environmental impact of food production. Currently, there is little consensus on how impacts are measured, with different regions using a range of methods. Clay emphasized the need for a cohesive global system: “Today, we’re not measuring impacts the same way, we’re not measuring the same impacts, and we’re not using the same methodologies.”

By establishing universally accepted metrics, Codex Planetarius hopes to provide governments with the tools to regulate and mitigate the environmental impacts of food production through international agreements. The initiative is designed to foster global cooperation, creating a shared understanding of the most pressing environmental challenges in food production and how to address them.

In addition to Codex Planetarius, WWF is also proposing what it calls a “1% Solution.” This would add a 1 percent environmental service fee to the price of food exports, creating a market-driven mechanism to fund sustainability efforts. The idea is to generate the financial resources needed to reduce key environmental impacts while promoting a more resilient global food system.

The Codex Planetarius initiative is currently in its infancy, with international researchers testing the framework through pilot projects in select countries. The results from these studies will be peer reviewed and published, with the ultimate goal of incorporating the framework into bilateral trade agreements and eventually pushing for broader adoption through multinational organizations.

WWF’s new initiative represents a significant step toward mitigating the environmental consequences of food production, as the organization seeks to create a more sustainable future for both people and the planet. By targeting the worst performing producers and establishing global standards, Codex Planetarius could reshape the global food system, driving innovation while reducing its ecological footprint.