On 8 June 2021, the Food System Summit Dialogue on “True Cost Accounting for Food Systems: Redefining Value to Transform Decision-making” was held successfully online. More than 100 government officials, private sector representatives, and experts joined the dialogue to explore how valuing the often-neglected impacts and dependencies that food systems have on nature, people and society ​can contribute to food systems transformation. Dr. Linxiu Zhang, Director of United Nations Environment Programme – International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), attended the dialogue and provided high-level introductions to the dialogue.

As one of the Food Systems Summit Dialogues, this independent dialogue was co-convened by UNDP and Capitals Coalition to strengthen and mainstream True Cost Accounting so that policy-makers, civil society, and businesses can redefine value and accelerate meaningful food systems transformations by making informed decisions. 

In the introduction session, UNEP-IEMP Director Linxiu Zhang extended her gratitude to the organizer of the dialogue, emphasized the importance of applying True Cost Accounting in food systems transformation in the context of achieving SDGs and the implementation of Paris Agreement, and highlighted UNEP-IEMP’s positioning and work in relevance. She also reminded the audience to seize the momentum in China on sustainable development. The dialogue proceedings resulted in recommendations that inform the policy debate on building an equitable and sustainable food systems by 2030 and accelerating SDG attainment. 

Director Linxiu Zhang and other participants sharing insights at the dialogue

This independent dialogue was convened to achieve the following results:

• Strengthened common vision of how true cost accounting and redefining the value provided by nature, people, and society can improve decision-making related to agriculture and food systems.
• Recommendations for the Food Systems Summit to apply True Cost Accounting and the environmental, social and human dimensions of value as systemic and cross-cutting levers to inform food systems decisions.
• Barriers and solutions identified for the uptake in decision-making processes of the often-neglected impacts and dependencies that food systems have on nature, people and society, at different scales and in different geographies.
• Growing coalition to support the application of True Cost Accounting and associated approaches within the food sector.

The Food Systems Summit Dialogues are purposeful and organized events where a broad and diverse range of stakeholders come together and share their experiences of food systems, consider how their roles impact on those of others and seek out ways to improve or transform food systems so they are suitable both for people and planet. The Dialogues provide an inclusive and supportive venue for debate, collaboration, consensus-building, and shared commitment making to contribute to the transformation to an equitable and sustainable food systems by 2030. This independent dialogue was co-convened by UNDP and Capitals Coalition, and curated by Global Alliance for the Future of Food and The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity (TEEB) Project.

For more information about this independent dialogue, please click here. To view the agenda of this dialogue, please click here.

For more information about the Food Systems Summit Dialogues, please click here.