The International Fresh Produce Association has announced the Global Fresh Produce and Floral Sustainability Framework, an initiative to charter a new course for sustainable agriculture. The plan was revealed ahead of the IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show in October to address a critical industry need.
This framework is designed as a collaborative road map for companies navigating their sustainability journey. Tamara Muruetagoiena, IFPA vice president of sustainability, emphasizes that the initiative stems from a fundamental industry need for a common language and practical tools to effectively define and communicate sustainability efforts.
The framework avoids imposing new compliance standards, instead aiming to align existing efforts and provide actionable guidance for growers and the broader supply chain, fostering a unified approach to sustainability communication.
“I get very tired of people saying, ‘Oh, it’s hard to define sustainability,’” Muruetagoiena says. “Let’s stop having that conversation. Let’s define it and move on.”
She also highlights that this initiative comes out of the work by IFPA’s Global Sustainability Council, which comprises hundreds of individuals from the fresh produce industry.
“It’s the sustainability professionals that are driving this effort,” Muruetagoiena says. “It’s them saying we need this, and we’re going to develop this. IFPA is helping, ultimately, in that effort, but in the end, it’s theirs.”
She says the framework takes a lot of the work the Sustainability Council has already done and essentially does a gap analysis to see what work is still needed in specific areas.
Phases of Framework Implementation
Muruetagoiena says the framework consists of two phases: The first will focus on growers, and the second involving the broader supply chain. She says listening sessions, surveys and working groups are a part of this initial phase to help growers co-create definitions and sustainability KPIs.
“Their feedback will directly shape the final metrics,” she says. “This framework is your road map to turn sustainability ambition into action — practical, credible and profitable. It’s about collaboration, transparency and creating shared value for people, planet and profit.”
Muruetagoiena says growers can expect outcome-based guidance, optional tools tailored to different production systems, crop-specific examples and regional case studies.
“The framework is positioned as an opportunity, not a mandate,” she says.
However, Muruetagoiena says it’s important to include insight from retailers as the Sustainability Council works to develop the framework for growers.
“We are creating a vision,” she says. “Because first you need to have a vision to be able to have conversations with stakeholders.”
She further explains that it’s beneficial to include retailers in the discussions around the frameworks, noting that growers have indicated a strong willingness to become certified for sustainability benchmarks and are already doing so much work within the sustainability space. The certifications that growers would participate in would reflect those benchmarks set in the framework and those established by consumer goods.
“On the retailer side, we want to tell the retailers, ‘If growers are willing to do this, are you willing to stop your requirements at that and not go beyond that?’” she says. “That [framework] will be a place to meet in the middle, and that’s our vision.”
Muruetagoiena says this collaboration with retailers will be connected with the framework to work with retailers on requirements and where the industry is with sustainability efforts.
She says the first two quarters of 2026 will focus on research, benchmarking and consulting with stakeholders. The second and third quarters of 2026 will focus on drafting and reviewing pillars of the framework. Pilot projects and implementation will be the focus of the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
The IFPA Sustainability Council plans to debut a draft of the framework at the Global Produce and Floral show in Orlando in October 2026, with rollout by the end of next year, she says.
Benefits for Growers and the Supply Chain
Muruetagoiena says she wants this initial part of the framework to be organic. If the Sustainability Council sees the need to pursue a specific topic under this framework, the research and benchmark portion has that flexibility.
“At the same time, we want to make sure that we don’t get stuck and that we keep moving,” she says.
While audit fatigue may be a real concern for growers, the plan is for the Global Fresh Produce and Floral Sustainability Framework to use existing certifications and benchmarking.
“We plan to align with recognized certification bodies and SSCI benchmarking to ensure credibility, reduce audit duplication and provide capacity-building tools for small growers,” Muruetagoiena says.
Once finalized, she says IFPA will provide tools, guidelines, case studies, webinars and more to help the industry better communicate sustainability.
“Our focus is on ROI and storytelling to show how sustainability drives market differentiation,” she says.
Aligning terms to better communicate sustainability efforts will be a significant benefit to the industry, Muruetagoiena says.
“The best part of it is that it will be a tool, hopefully, to be better at telling our story,” she says. “Because our companies are so paralyzed at telling our story, their story, and I hope that the framework allows them to have the vocabulary to tell their story about what they’re already doing.”
Muruetagoiena says that while many companies may increase sustainability efforts, having this framework will help the produce industry better communicate those practices in an intentional and succinct way.
“I think it will be great when we talk to the media or especially policymakers that know nothing about us, we will have a language to speak,” she says. “Because right now, we don’t have a language for our industry for sustainability. We’re doing a ton. With a framework, at least, it is a language and a way of expressing what’s going on, or what goals do we have. I think will be really useful for policymakers as well and just consumers in general.”
