Researchers modeled the environmental impacts of adopting the Bonsucro Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), a set of international norms established by a global alliance on VSS, on sugarcane production under multiple scenarios and found that global adoption of the standards would reduce total production area by 24%, net sugarcane tonnage by 11%, water use by 65%, nutrient loading by 34%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 51%; most of these environmental benefits may be achieved by focusing on 10% of current production area, according to the authors.
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Article #17-07812: "Voluntary sustainability standards could significantly reduce detrimental impacts of global agriculture," by W. K. Smith et al.
MEDIA CONTACTS: W. K. Smith, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; tel: 970-449-2949; e-mail: wksmith@email.arizona.edu ; D. N. Penningtion, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; tel: 513-313-2185; e-mail: derric@umn.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences