The Field Cultivation Index, a New Method for Assessing Agricultural Practices’ Sustainability and Moving Towards Regenerative Agriculture—Application to Cosmetic Supply Chains

Abstract

Utilizing more bioresources exposes supply chains to agricultural risks. Therefore, sustainable agricultural practices are crucial for supporting a resilient transition. This requires tools for assessing the environmental performance of cropping systems. However, most existing tools are not adapted to the operational realities of, for example, cosmetics supply chains. The Field Cultivation Index (FCI) has been developed with a threefold aim: 1. assess cropping systems’ strengths and weaknesses and guide their improvement; 2. compare cropping systems to identify the most environmentally friendly; 3. promote initiatives and efforts made to improve sustainability. It also meets the requirements for tackling the specific operational challenges of global industries like cosmetics: it is (i) simple (data collection is easy and straightforward), (ii) deployable in all regions of the world (with a diversity of soils, climates, etc.), and (iii) adaptable to all cropping systems (industrial, family, etc.) and all plant species (perennials, annuals, etc.). Its methodology is based on scientifically recognized evaluation methods and economic operator initiatives. It is built around a theoretical framework embodying the concepts of regenerative agriculture, enabling the qualitative assessment of the impact of cropping systems on five main regenerative environmental outcomes: soil quality improvement water resource conservation biodiversity enhancement, pesticide reduction, and carbon emission mitigation. This article describes the FCI methodology and reveals initial results from the evaluation of about 40 diversified cropping systems. It demonstrates that the FCI is an operational, sensitive, and educational tool capable of determining the performance level of diversified cropping systems, while highlighting the need for a high level of regenerative practice deployment to achieve satisfactory scores. The tool supports farmers and supply chains in assessing and improving the environmental profile of agricultural production systems in line with sustainability goals. Finally, this paper discusses the benefits, limitations, and potential uses of this tool for monitoring the environmental impact of cropping systems within cosmetics supply chains.