The WWF Germany carried out an in-depth study comparing the two programmes, both of which cover minimum requirements for social standards, land conservation, applications of chemicals and soil quality and concluded that the two are comparable despite some differences between the two approaches to sustainable soy.
It also concluded that there is room for improvement in both schemes, including in the use of hazardous chemicals, and the management of soil fertility.
Dr John Fagan of The ProTerra Foundation said in a statement: “We welcome the thorough approach that WWF Germany has taken in assessing both the ProTerra and RTRS schemes and acknowledging the power that certification can have in driving forward sustainability in the global food supply chain.”
He said that ProTerra delivered 4.2m metric tonnes of traceable non-GMO soy with improved sustainability to the European market in 2011.