Resources 6 Resources ... Accessing Answers Find resources, websites and other in<strong>for</strong>mation to assist you in using the Guide to benefit your organization. DRAFT <strong>Processor</strong> <strong>Handbook</strong> to the Guide, April 2013
Glossary of Terms and Definitions 6 Terms Indicator An indicator is qualitative or quantitative in<strong>for</strong>mation about results or outcomes associated with the farm or company that is comparable and demonstrates change over time. It is a communication about per<strong>for</strong>mance of a farm or dairy company related to a particular sustainability topic, characteristic or condition that enables people to make decisions or value judgements about this per<strong>for</strong>mance. Metric A metric is data or in<strong>for</strong>mation that indicates or reflects the condition of an indicator. It gives the definition on how to measure and respond to the indicator. It supports producers or processors to measure the sustainability outcome. Primary indicator Primary indicators are those indicators identified in the Guide to be of interest to most stakeholders and assumed to be relevant unless deemed otherwise on the basis of the GRI Reporting Guidelines (to be used by dairy companies) or as indicated by the tools <strong>for</strong> producers. Secondary indicator Secondary indicators are those indicators identified in Sustainability Measurement and Reporting Guide that represent emerging practices or address topics that may be relevant to some farms or dairy companies but not generally <strong>for</strong> a majority. Or, these indicators can be used to communicate best practices and stories to support the primary indicators. Supply chain The supply chain is the network that produces, handles, and distributes a product. The dairy supply chain can be broadly divided into eight stages: feed production, milk production, delivery to processor, processing, packaging, distribution, retail, consumption and disposal. Sustainability Sustainability means providing consumers with the nutritious dairy products they want, in a way that makes the industry, people and the earth economically, environmentally and socially better — now and <strong>for</strong> future generations. Sustainability report Sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing and being accountable <strong>for</strong> organizational per<strong>for</strong>mance while working towards the goal of sustainable development. A sustainability report provides a balanced and reasonable representation of the sustainability per<strong>for</strong>mance of the reporting organization, including both positive and negative contributions. (GRI G3.1) Resources <strong>Dairy</strong> Fleet Smart TM <strong>Dairy</strong> Fleet Smart TM is an <strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>Center</strong>-led initiative <strong>for</strong> the industry to calculate and measure its GHG emissions from transportation. This tool can be used in conjunction with the Guide and Plant Smart, but may not be useful <strong>for</strong> processors and manufacturers that do not operate their own fleet. (www.<strong>US</strong><strong>Dairy</strong>.com/FarmSmart) Global Reporting Initiative The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a non-profit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability. GRI provides all companies and organizations with a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework that is widely used around the world. GRI’s framework served as the basis <strong>for</strong> developing the indicators in the Guide. (www.globalreporting.org) Carbon Disclosure Project The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an international, not-<strong>for</strong>-profit organization providing the only global system <strong>for</strong> companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental in<strong>for</strong>mation. CDP works with market <strong>for</strong>ces to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. CDP now holds the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and <strong>for</strong>est-risk in<strong>for</strong>mation and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. (www.cdproject.net) Special Acknowledgements From the beginning the <strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>Center</strong> <strong>for</strong> U.S. <strong>Dairy</strong> ® — through the Sustainability Council and its many partners — has modeled a new way of working together pre-competitively to encourage innovation. Teams of dairy industry experts have invested their time and resources to develop and implement actionable projects to reduce GHG emissions and build business value across the entire dairy value chain. The <strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>Center</strong> would like to especially acknowledge the individuals and organizations that contributed to the development of the Stewardship and Sustainability Guide <strong>for</strong> U.S. <strong>Dairy</strong>. A full list of Guide contributors is available at www.<strong>US</strong><strong>Dairy</strong>.com/ SustainabilityGuide. Special acknowledgments go to the Sustainability Guide Task Force and the Environment, Economic and Social teams — as well as the Sustainability Council, <strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>Center</strong> team members, report reviewers and field testers — <strong>for</strong> their valuable contributions. 45
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