Sustainable Food Trust

What Sustainable Food Trust does

The Sustainable Food Trust is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1148645, company number 7577102) founded by Patrick Holden in 2012 and headquartered in Bristol, operating with approximately 33 employees. The organisation works to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food and farming systems, addressing the interconnected failures of current systems across soil health, animal welfare, human health, climate, and biodiversity through advocacy, research, and coalition-building.

The Trust's core assets are not commercial products but programs and frameworks. Its proprietary contribution is the Global Farm Metric, a harmonised framework for measuring farm-level sustainability across environmental, social, and economic dimensions that has been adopted on over 240 farms and is now being deployed by Waitrose as the measurement backbone for its 2035 regenerative farming commitment. Other core programs include the Sustainable Livestock campaign, True Cost Accounting research, the Local Abattoirs campaign, the Beacon Farms Network (a farmer education platform), and policy initiatives such as the co-founded Abattoir Sector Group and the CLEAR labelling consortium. Content distribution runs through the SFT Podcast, a weekday Daily News Digest, a monthly newsletter, an active blog, and participation in major sector events including Groundswell and the Oxford Real Farming Conference.

The Trust's revenue model is donation- and grant-based rather than commercial: it solicits voluntary contributions from individuals, receives project grants (e.g., from the Naturesave Trust), and derives indirect funding from enterprise partnerships aligned with its sustainability agenda. It does not sell products or services. Its go-to-market is event-driven, leveraging owned media, earned press, coalition advocacy targeting policymakers (Defra, the Food Standards Agency), and direct engagement with food businesses and retailers on sustainability commitments.

Name

Sustainable Food Trust

Legal name

The Sustainable Food Trust

Website

https://sustainablefoodtrust.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Sustainable Food Trust is a UK charity founded in 2012 that advocates for sustainable food and farming through the Global Farm Metric framework, policy campaigns, research, podcasts, and farmer education networks. It serves farmers, policymakers, food businesses, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Sustainable Agriculture Advocacy

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food Security Development (BPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI), Sustainability & Environmental Certifications (Carbon, Water, Regenerative) (AFALAMAC), Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition Technical Assistance (BPADAEAG), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Sustainable agriculture advocacy
• Farm sustainability measurement
• Regenerative farming research
• Food system policy
• Livestock welfare campaigns

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The Sustainable Food Trust is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1148645) that relies on donations from individuals and supporters to fund its work on sustainable food and farming advocacy, research, and campaigns.
2. Grants and Funding: The organization receives grant funding for specific projects, such as the Naturesave Trust funding for the grazing livestock film. Grants support research, reports, and specific advocacy initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Sustainable Food Trust is a UK-registered charity that runs advocacy campaigns, research programs, and educational initiatives to accelerate the transition to sustainable food and farming. Its core deliverables include named campaigns (Sustainable Livestock, Feeding Britain, Local Abattoirs), research and measurement programs (True Cost Accounting, Measuring Sustainability, Global Farm Metric), the Beacon Farms Network, plus media outputs (SFT Podcast, Daily News Digest newsletter, monthly newsletter, reports, and films).

Product overview

The Sustainable Food Trust is a UK-registered charity (charity number 1148645) that operates advocacy programs, publications, and events rather than commercial software products. Its core programs include the Sustainable Livestock Program, Feeding Britain Initiative, True Cost Accounting, Measuring Sustainability Program, Local Abattoirs Campaign, Beacon Farms Network, and the Global Farm Metric framework. Content offerings include the SFT Podcast (audio discussions on food and farming), newsletters (Daily News Digest and monthly newsletter), and events (conferences, farm visits, webinars). The organization functions as an advocacy and educational non-profit, not a technology company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Farm Metric: A harmonised framework for understanding and measuring farm sustainability developed by the organization
• Beacon Farms Network
• Abattoir Sector Group

Products and services

• Sustainable Livestock Program Advocacy campaign positioning livestock as part of the regenerative, mixed-farming solution for climate, nature and health; campaigns for higher welfare and more sustainable practices across the food and farming sector.
• Feeding Britain Initiative
• True Cost Accounting Program
• Measuring Sustainability Program
• Local Abattoirs Campaign Campaign since 2018 supporting small, local abattoirs as essential infrastructure for local food systems and high welfare, sustainable farming.
• Beacon Farms Network
• Global Farm Metric
• SFT Podcast
• Newsletters
• Events Program

Quantifiable outcome

• The Global Farm Metric framework has been adopted on 240+ farms.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WaitrosecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2024Waitrose has committed that by 2035 all its UK-produced meat, milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables will come from farms using regenerative practices. The SFT, through its Global Farm Metric, is working with Waitrose to support measurement and transparency in regenerative farming transitions. The SFT's CEO Patrick Holden publicly saluted Waitrose's leadership, noting the SFT's eight years of work on the Global Farm Metric as a foundation for this partnership.
• LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaitrose is working with LEAF and the Sustainable Food Trust towards a harmonised framework for measuring farm sustainability impacts. LEAF is a prominent farm assurance organization, and the collaboration with SFT's Global Farm Metric is intended to unify measurement approaches across the food sector.
• Abattoir Sector Group (ASG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SFT is a co-founder of the Abattoir Sector Group, established in 2020 to provide a unified voice for the small and local abattoir sector. Co-founders and current steering group members include AIMS, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, Fir Farm, M C Kelly Ltd, National Craft Butchers, Pasture for Life, Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and the Sustainable Food Trust. The group has driven policy wins including the £4m Smaller Abattoir Fund and £3m new abattoir fund.
• CLEAR (Consortium for Labelling for the Environment, Animal Welfare and Regenerative Farming)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SFT is a founding member of CLEAR, a coalition of leading NGOs in food and farming that lobbies for mandatory 'method of production' labelling to become standard across all meat and food products sold in the UK. CLEAR was launched at Groundswell in 2021 and includes Pasture for Life and other leading food and farming organizations.
• Naturesave TrustminorOthersThe Naturesave Trust provided generous funding for the SFT's short film on grazing livestock and soil health. Naturesave Trust is funded by the activities of Naturesave Insurance, the UK's leading ethical insurance provider.
• Local Food Growth Plan Coalition (Sustain, Landworkers' Alliance, FFCC, Pasture for Life)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SFT is a partner in the Local Food Growth Plan, a coalition report published in April 2025 by Sustain, Landworkers' Alliance, Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC), Pasture for Life, and the Sustainable Food Trust. The report presents a comprehensive pathway for growing the UK's local food sector with 7 key priorities for local and national governments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sustain: UK alliance for better food and farming, coordinating 100+ NGOs on sustainable food policy. Co-publisher with SFT of the Local Food Growth Plan and operates a near-identical advocacy-coalition model.
• LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming): UK farm assurance organization promoting integrated farm management and the LEAF Marque standard. Direct peer already collaborating with SFT on the Global Farm Metric harmonisation effort.
• Compassion in World Farming: International farm animal welfare charity campaigning on livestock welfare, policy reform, and food system change. Strong overlap with SFT on sustainable livestock advocacy and CLEAR coalition membership.
• Soil Association: UK charity and organic certification body advocating for sustainable farming, organic standards, and food system reform. Closest direct peer to SFT in mission, UK geography, and advocacy-driven charitable model.
• Pasture for Life: UK charity certifying 100% pasture-fed livestock and advocating regenerative grazing. Partner in CLEAR and the Local Food Growth Plan, with overlapping livestock-and-regeneration focus.
• Landworkers' Alliance: UK farmer and landworker union advocating for agroecology, small-scale farming, and local food systems. Coalition partner in the Local Food Growth Plan with overlapping grassroots-farmer advocacy focus.
• Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC): UK charity developing evidence-based policy for sustainable food and farming transitions. Co-publisher of the Local Food Growth Plan and overlaps heavily with SFT on true cost accounting and transition policy.

Broad incumbents

• WWF UK: Large UK environmental advocacy organisation with food-system programmes covering sustainable agriculture and diets. Significantly larger scale than SFT but pursues overlapping themes of regenerative farming and food policy reform.
• RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds): Large UK conservation charity with significant farmland policy influence and an established certification scheme. Broader than SFT in scope but a comparable UK advocacy-and-research charity with farming programmes.

Regional players

• Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust: UK organisation funding farmer-led research and travel scholarships on agricultural innovation. Comparable UK-only footprint, smaller team, focused on farmer research and education rather than broad advocacy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/susfoodtrust.bsky.social
• Facebookfacebook.com/SusFoodTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustainable-food-trust
• Instagraminstagram.com/susfoodtrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sustainable Food Trust