Area One Farms is pleased to announce that it has qualified to become a signatory and has signed the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (UN PRI).
Founded in 2006, UN PRI is a network of global investors committed to working together to put principles of responsible investing into practice. Signatories follow a set of six principles that protect the environment, benefit society, and promote sound governance through integrity and transparent reporting.
“Signing the UN PRI is a natural step for Area One Farms,” said Joelle Faulkner, President and CEO, Area One Farms. “Our partnership model already makes us the most responsible way to invest in Canadian farmland. We share more value with farmers than any other farmland manager, we focus on long-term sustainability, and we bake good practices into our legal agreements, farm budgeting, and financial reporting. The principles of sustainable agriculture and responsible investing are so integral to our model that it never occurred to us to advertise our approach. That is changing.”
Models for what constitute responsible investing in agriculture are generally tailored to investor-owners who rent farmland to farmers rather than own and operate it with them in partnership. As a result, such models seldom explain how investors and farmers might weigh the necessary costs and benefits to jointly make sustainable operational farm management decisions. To help fill this gap, Area One Farms has developed its own Approach to Sustainable Farmland Investing.
The Approach to Sustainable Agriculture Investing details the environmental, social, and governance standards that Area One Farms aims to achieve in managing its growing portfolio of Canadian farmland. Available upon request, it outlines Area One Farms’ methods for investing in partnership with farmers and operating together sustainably.
Area One Farms developed its Approach to Sustainable Agriculture Investing based on the following five principles that have guided the company throughout its history:
- Our partners do better partnering with Area One Farms, including owning more of their own farmland.
- We take a long-term approach to operational management so that our farms are environmentally sustainable long after our partnership concludes.
- The benefits of our partnerships go beyond the farm to strengthen the families we work with and their local communities.
- We only invest where there is 100% water sustainability.
- Adherence to all laws and regulatory guidelines is essential and is a pre-requisite of partnership with Area One Farms.