2011

• July 5, 2011 – Phillips Mushroom Farms Donates to Support the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Development Process -- Leonardo Academy recognized Phillips Mushroom Farms for its generous donation to support the development of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard. This standard will provide guidance to producers on how they can increase the sustainability of their production and provide a system for documenting and communicating these sustainability achievements. (MORE)

• June 2, 2011 – Call for Applications to Join the Standards Committee -- Leonardo Academy, an accredited developer of American national standards, is pleased to announce three new openings on the Standards Committee for the Type III Life-Cycle Impact Profile Declarations for Materials, Products, Services and Systems. One opening each is currently available in the Producer, User, and Environmental interest categories. (MORE)

• May 24, 2010 – Sustainable Agriculture Standard Gets a New Number -- The Sustainable Agriculture Standard development process received a new number from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), LEO-4000, which replaces the previous number LEO-SCS-001. When standard developers initiate the development process for a standard, ANSI assigns a number to be the identifier for that standard development process and for the standard developed. (MORE)

• May 2, 2010 – Standards Committee Makes Strides toward Developing National Sustainable Agriculture Standard at Annual Meeting -- Leonardo Academy reports that significant progress was made during its fourth national face-to-face meeting of the multi-stakeholder Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee. Standards Committee members and observers convened at Gap Corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California, and those participating remotely were able to join the meeting online. (MORE)

• March 31, 2011 – Additional Members of National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee Announced -- Leonardo Academy announces the appointment of three additional members to the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee. The Standards Committee welcomes Ciaran Long, CleanGrow Limited; Doug Miell, Miell Consulting; and Richard Olson, GANTEC Advance, in the General Interest category. (MORE)

• March 31, 2011 – 2011 Fundraising Campaign Kick-Off for National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Development Process -- Leonardo Academy announced the kick-off of the 2011 fundraising campaign for the development of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard. This historic initiative includes participation from a wide spectrum of participants representing American production agriculture, retail and manufacturing entities, academia, government agencies, and other interested stakeholders. Together, participants are seeking to develop a widely inclusive, far-reaching standard for sustainable agriculture based on the internationally-recognized American National Standards Institute process.(MORE)

• March 29, 2011 – New Members of National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee Announced -- Leonardo Academy announces the appointment of three new members to the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee in the Producers category: Fred Fleming, Lazy YJ Farms and Shepherd’s Grain; Kristine Ellor, Phillips Mushroom Farms; and Yvette Speziani, Sunburst Farms. (MORE)

2010

• December 13, 2010 -- National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Development Process Announces Committee Meeting for April 13-14, 2011 – Leonardo Academy announced that the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee meeting has been scheduled to be held April 13 and 14, 2011 at the Gap, Inc. headquarters in San Francisco, California. The donation of the meeting space was generously offered by Standards Committee member of the Users category, Kindley Walsh-Lawlor, Vice President of Social and Environmental Responsibility for Gap, Inc. (MORE)

• November 9, 2010 -- New Officers and Member Announced; Meeting Now Scheduled for March for the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee – Leonardo Academy has announced the new officers of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee.(MORE)

• October 28, 2010 -- Call for Applications: Twelve Open Seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee in the Producer, User and General Interest Categories -- Leonardo Academy is seeking applications for twelve vacant seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee within the Producer, User, and General Interest categories. (MORE)

• October 21, 2010 -- National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Development Update -- The National Sustainable Agriculture Standard process is now progressing from principle development to content development. The new content being developed by the Subcommittees will be reviewed by the Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee at its next meeting, hosted by the GAP in the San Francisco Bay Area January 13-14, 2010. (MORE)

• September 21, 2010 -- Four New Members Selected for National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, One Open Seat -– After a two month application submission and review period, Leonardo Academy announces the appointment of four new members to the Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee. (MORE)

• August 5, 2010 – Call for Applications Extended: Committee to Develop Leonardo Academy ANSI Standard for Sustainable Organizations (LEO-1000) -- Leonardo Academy, an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited standards developer, announced today a call for applications has been extended to August 31, 2010 for the Standards Committee that will work to develop the Standard for Sustainable Organizations (LEO-1000). This committee will develop an ANSI standard that defines what makes a company or organization sustainable and how to measure and document the level of sustainability achieved. The standard will also define the process for third-party verification of sustainability achievements. (MORE)

• July 20, 2010 -- Call for Applications:  Two Open Seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee -- Leonardo Academy is seeking applications for four vacant seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the User, Environmentalist and General Interest categories. Individuals or representatives of entities that use agricultural goods, such as product handlers, processors, distributors, manufacturers, food service companies, retailers and restaurants, along with labor groups, consumer groups, agricultural development NGOs, academia, and other interested parties that are interested in engaging in a national dialogue on sustainable agriculture, are encouraged to apply. (MORE)

• June 18, 2010 -- Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee Reports Progress Toward Developing an American National Standard -- Leonardo Academy reports significant progress during the third face-to-face meeting of the multi-stakeholder Standards Committee that is working to develop an American National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture. During the two-day meeting at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Standards Committee members discussed, and then voted to approve, guiding sustainability principles developed by the Economic, Social, and Environmental Criteria Subcommittees. (MORE)

• May 20, 2010 -- National Sustainable Agriculture Standard E-Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 3

• April 22, 2010 -- New Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee Members Announced --Leonardo Academy announces the appointment of two new members to the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the Environmentalist and General Interest categories. (MORE)

• April 19, 2010 -- National Sustainable Agriculture Standard E-Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 2

• March 10, 2010 -- Call for Applications:  Two Open Seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee -- Leonardo Academy is now accepting applications for two vacant seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the Environmentalist and General Interest categories. Individuals or representatives of organizations that are focused on preserving and improving the environment, along with government representatives; academics; researchers; representatives of labor groups, consumer groups and agricultural development NGOs; and other parties that do not fall under the Producer or User interest groups and that are interested in engaging in a national dialogue on sustainable agriculture, are encouraged to apply. (MORE)

• January 28, 2010 -- National Sustainable Agriculture Standard E-Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 1

• January 19, 2010 -- Seven New Members Selected for Open Seats on the Standards Committee --After a two month application submission and review period, Leonardo Academy has appointed seven new members to the SCS-001 Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee:  1) Steve Flick, Show Me Energy Cooperative (Producer), 2) Bill Norman, National Cotton Council (User), 3) Kindley Walsh Lawlor, Gap Inc. (User), 4) Andrew Manale,  Soil and Water Conservation Society/ USEPA (Environmentalist), 5) LaRhea Pepper, Organic Exchange (Environmentalist), 6) Dr. John Fagan, Earth Open Source/Global ID Group Inc. (Environmentalist), 7) Douglas Constance, Sam Houston State University (General Interest). These individuals will be filling seats vacated by Hans Brand of B&H Flowers, Frans Wielemaker of Dole Fresh Fruit International, Colleen Kohlsaat of Levi Strauss & Company, Suzy Friedman of Environmental Defense Fund, Ron Strochlic of the California Institute of Rural Studies, David Pimentel of Cornell University and John Kukoly of QAI-SAI Global. (MORE)

2009

• November 10, 2009 -- Call for Applications: Five Open Seats on the Standards Committee -- Leonardo Academy announced a call for applications for five vacant seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, in the following stakeholder categories:  Producer (1), User (2), Environmentalist (1) and General Interest (1). Individuals across the entire agricultural supply chain - including growers, farm organizations, handlers and distributors, food processors, food service companies, retailers, government agencies, environmental organizations, labor groups, consumer groups, NGOs, academic and other interested parties - that are interested in engaging in a national dialogue on sustainable agriculture are encouraged to apply. More.

• July 6, 2009 -- Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committees Now Open for Membership. Leonardo Academy is now accepting applications for membership on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Subcommittees. The subcommittees, which will play a key role in the standards development process, are open to membership by all interested parties. More.

• June 5 , 2009 -- Progress Reported as Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee Takes Next Steps Toward Development of American National Standard. Significant progress was made during the second face-to-face meeting of the multi-stakeholder Standards Committee working to develop an American National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture (SCS-001). More.

• May 15, 2009 -- Three New Members Selected for Open Seats on National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, User Category. Leonardo Academy announces the appointment of three new members to the Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the User Interest Category. More.

• May 13, 2009 -- Sustainable Agriculture Practice Standard Development Takes New Steps Forward:  SCS Commits to Nonprofit Ownership and Clears the Path for Fundraising Campaign. The National Sustainable Agriculture Practice Standard setting process moves up to a new level with two recent developments. Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) of Emeryville, CA - the organization responsible for launching the initiative - has committed to transferring the copyright ownership for any standard developed in the process to a charitable nonprofit organization. With this commitment in hand, Leonardo Academy has launched a fundraising campaign to support the ongoing development of the standard. More.

• April 29, 2009 -- Three Seats Open on National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee. Leonardo Academy is seeking applications for three open seats on the National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, within the 'User' Interest Category. Individuals or representatives of entities that use agricultural products -- including retailers and restaurants, food services companies, product handlers, processors, manufacturers and distributors--and have an interest in participating in the national dialogue on sustainable agriculture practices are encouraged to apply. More.

• January 16, 2009 -- ANSI Rules in Favor of Leonardo Academy on USDA Appeal - National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Process Continues With Robust Participation. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has ruled in favor of Leonardo Academy on the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA) appeal of Leonardo's status as an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer. More.

2008

• November 3, 2008 -- Standards Committee Officers Selected to Lead Progress of National Sustainable Agriculture Standard. The Standards Committee that is spearheading the development of a national standard for sustainable agriculture took a major step forward this week with the election of its leadership. More.

• October 28, 2008 -- Call for Applications: Open Seats on Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee, User Interest Category. Leonardo Academy announces a call for applications for three open seats on the SCS-001 Standards Committee within the 'User' Interest Category. Anyone who uses agricultural products --including retailers and restaurants, food service companies, product handlers, processors, distributors and manufacturers--and has an interest in sustainable agriculture is encouraged to apply. More.

• September 29, 2008 -- First National Sustainable Agriculture Standard Setting Initiative Moves Into High Gear. The first successful steps toward developing a national consensus standard for sustainable agriculture in the United States have now been taken by a diverse, multi-stakeholder committee selected to lead the endeavor. More.