Canadian Alliance for
Net-Zero Agri-food
Our Vision
A net-zero agri-food system for Canada
Our Mission
Remove 150 Mt of emissions from Canada’s agri-food sector by 2050
What is the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food?
The Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA) is a new national alliance with active involvement of leading industry partners. Stakeholders from across the agri-food system will mobilize investment, stand up and scale up innovative projects, advance bold policies, and create the right market incentives to remove 150 Mt of emissions from Canada’s agri-food sector by 2050. In doing so, CANZA aims to help Canada create a circular, net-zero agri-food system.
To achieve this ambitious mission, CANZA will identify, coordinate and catalyze opportunities through a flexible and evolving platform of pilots, regional projects, and scalable innovations. This ground-up innovation approach starts in partnership with farmers, by collaborating on solutions that meet their needs and making sure they have the support (financial or otherwise) they need to implement these solutions successfully.
With a bias for action, CANZA is starting with two game-changing decarbonization initiatives:
Climate Smart Farming Initiative
Develop a low cost, scalable, and nationally relevant measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system.
Create a voluntary carbon credit platform to help farmers develop and monetize high quality carbon assets produced through the adoption of climate-smart practices.
Work with industry to develop climate-smart products and a certification strategy to grow consumer awareness and demand.
Beginning in Saskatchewan, the first project will lay the foundation for additional demonstration projects across the country in the following years. The goal is to ensure the framework and tools are relevant for farmers of all sizes and commodities.
National Biodigester Network Initiative
Develop a roadmap and model for scaling a ‘waste to value’ digester network in high impact regions across Canada.
Design policy and market incentives to accelerate agricultural digester development and related carbon markets.
Create a strategy for scaling upcycling clusters (organics and biomass waste streams) that provide stable feedstocks and new economic opportunities.
Founding Partners
Key industry partners who have provided critical financial and in-kind support to get CANZA started include Loblaw, Maple Leaf Foods, Nutrien, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), McCain Foods, and BCG Centre for Canada's Future.
CANZA is supported by a secretariat of professional staff who operate as part of a strategic partnership between The Natural Step Canada (TNS) and the Smart Prosperity Institute (SPI). Given their deep expertise in the agri-food space, TNS, SPI and the founding partners of CANZA are working in close collaboration with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute.
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Contact us at info@canza.ca