The National Cotton Council (NCC) recently introduced a new initiative intended to meet the industry’s 2025 sustainability goals. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol will collect data for the purpose of documenting cotton production practices and the impact they have on the environment. The announcement was made at the recent Cotton Sourcing USA Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“That’s a further effort to strengthen our sustainability message and develop a program that will be farm-level in orientation,” said NCC President and CEO Dr Gary Adams. “We will look at enrolling producers in this program. We will look at a self-assessment questionnaire that producers will use, as well as a data tool so that they can do a better job of managing and measuring their resource use.”
Some of the national sustainability goals include an increase in irrigation efficiency and overall productivity, as well as a reduction of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The sustainability program is designed to further prove to the global textile supply chain that the American cotton industry remains committed to responsible production.
“We anticipate as development work continues that this program will be piloted beginning with the 2019 crop and expect a broader adoption and rollout as we get to the 2020 crop,” Adams noted. “Work is underway continuing to gather input from some of the interested stakeholders.”
New Cotton Trust Protocol Initiative
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