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Sustainability is a journey and continuous improvement is in everything we do. However, as protecting and preserving the planet is becoming ever more important, there is significant value in consistent data measurement. As the saying goes, you can’t improve what you don’t measure.
The Trust Protocol will measure and report annually against the 2025 National Goals for Continuous Improvement metrics, using the 2015 Ag districts reports as a baseline.
Explore our data from 2023/24 below.
Robust Data From the Field
All Trust Protocol grower members enter data from their fields on key sustainability metrics for that crop year, and all data collected is then aggregated. Individual data or information is never shared.
The Trust Protocol focuses on six key sustainability metrics – water use, energy efficiency, land use, soil health, soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The program’s data collection and verification process contains multiple stages but starts when each grower member answers a self-assessment which is regionalized and classified by irrigated and non-irrigated practices. After growers complete all steps of enrollment, the program provides data in aggregate form. Growers are then able to understand how they compare to their regional, state and national metrics, and are able to adjust their practices as such. The program gives them the opportunity to understand how they measure, and therefore improve.
Data for the 2023/24 year highlights how Trust Protocol grower members are continuously improving, implementing sustainable practices, and are on target to meet or exceed the 2025 National Goals.
Yield and Land Use Metrics
Protocol growers continue to outperform national yield averages, achieving a 14% improvement that highlights the program's commitment to best management practices.
Water Use Metrics
Protocol growers showed a 14% increase in water use efficiency compared to the 2015 baseline, demonstrating progress toward the 2025 National Goal, while highlighting the importance of considering diverse climate conditions.
Energy Use Metrics
Trust Protocol growers surpassed the 2025 National Goal for energy reduction, demonstrating 27% less energy use compared to 2015, emphasizing the importance of analyzing energy use throughout the supply chain.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Metrics
With a 21% decrease in GHG emissions per pound of fiber compared to 2015, Trust Protocol growers are making consistent progress. Data transparency is also being used to identify key areas for further improvement, like nitrogen management.
Soil Conservation Metrics
When compared to the 2015 National baseline, Protocol growers have achieved a remarkable 79% reduction in soil loss, exceeding conservation standards, and highlighting a strong commitment to soil health. This result is lower than the NRCS target for soil loss of 3-5 tons per acre per year.
Soil Carbon Metrics
With 74% of growers achieving a positive Soil Conditioning Index in 2023/24, the program is on track to achieve its goal of 30% grower soil carbon improvement by 2025, underscoring the commitment to long-term soil health.
Transparency in Action
2024 Annual Report
If you’re interested in learning more about the Trust Protocol’s important work to date, and what comes next, download our 2024 Annual Report