Soil Association Limited Trustees’ Report and Consolidated Financial Statements For the year ending 31st March 2022
Contents
Why we exist ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Chair’s introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3 Trustees’ Report .................................................................................................................................. 5 Overview of progress ......................................................................................................................... 8 Our achievements and performance this year ............................................................................ 11 Financial review and results for the year .....................................................................................43 Independent auditor’s report to the members of the Soil Association Limited ....................54 Financial Statements ....................................................................................................................... 60
1
Why we exist
Our vision
Our mission
Our values
2
Chair's introduction Welcome to the Soil Association's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2022. Thanks to the hard work of all our staff and the immense generosity of our supporters, we have made good progress this year despite some challenging headwinds, positioning us well to deliver against our ambitious objectives. Our policy work has contributed much to the ongoing public debate about the threats to climate, nature and health and how best to promote sustainable solutions to these fundamental problems. We continue to deliver our acclaimed programmes such as Innovative Farmers and Food for Life that use proven techniques, grounded in practical experience and a sound scientific approach, to drive positive and measurable change. Soil Association Certification has had an exceptional year - both in terms of the difficulties the business has had to deal with, and the strong operating and f inancial performance that has been delivered. We are very grateful for the support of all our licensees, and pleased that the organic market has grown by 5/ to £3.2 billion. We have made encouraging progress with our new start-up initiative Soil Association Exchange, which uses a combination of technology and real-world advice to help every type of farmer get the most out of regenerative farming - reaping the financial benefits of feeding their communities while stewarding the land with nature in mind. We are also using technology to engage with as many people as possible in the most inclusive manner. Pleasingly we had I million users on our website, and exceptional levels of attendance at the wide range of online and real-world conferences, talks, seminars and training workshops we use to develop and share our experience of agroecology and organic thinking and practice. We have managed our finances well over the last couple of challenging years and are pleased to report that the Group has come out of the pandemic in a healthy financial position which is enabling us to make some strategic investments over the coming year to help us build our capabilities further. Our ambitious strategy to deliver great impact means we need to continue to raise vital funds from members, philanthropists and charitable foundations through the Regeneration Fund and other initiatives. We are fortunate to receive much-valued support from our corporate partners - a great group that were joined this year by Deloitte when we became one of their charity Climate Partners. Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
It strikes me that the relevance is ever more apparent today of the name chosen by the charity s founders 76 years ago. The crucial importance of healthy soil is widely recognised, with increasing focus on its function in effectively sequestering carbon. The "social. part of 'association" in uniting with others across the food, farming and forestry systems to increase our impact is a source of great strength. And of course we strive to promote working "in association" with nature - to join forces with the natural world as an ally to restore and sustain a world with good health, thriving biodiversity, and a safe climate. Thank you for your ongoing interest in this vitally important cause. Your support makes a very real difference. Martin Nye Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Trustees’ Report
a. Chief Executive’s foreword
5
where and how these technologies could support the transition to agroecology and healthy, sustainable diets. We published 'Fixing Nitrogen, and a ground breaking paper on Regenerative Forestry, which sets out a vision for how to optimise commercial, environmental and social goals. And working closely with the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, we continued to develop the modelling by IDDRI, on the feasibility and impacts of a widespread move to agroecology across the UK. Our Certification business has had a deeply challenging year, dealing with the problems of remote audits, Brexit complications and a rapidly growing demand for organic and forestry certification. Despite these stresses, and partly because of the exceptional circumstances, the business had an unusually profitable year, allowing us to boost reserves and provide a small cushion as we head into a period which looks complex and uncertain on many fronts It has also allowed us to invest in a new climate and landscape services team, to deliver audits on the woodland and peat carbon codes, and to work here and internationally on landscape scale recovery. It's been an exciting year for the Soil Association Land Trust, our sister charity within the group. The donation of Woodoaks Farm, spanning the M25 close to Maple Cross, has allowed us the opportunity to put our many ideas into practice in a place close to many millions of people. We have invited new entrants to apply to come to set up at the farm, planted new hedges, rescued and renovated a wonderful listed barn, and have teams of volunteers getting active on the land. At a time when the big picture can feel overwhelming, it's sometimes great just to be able to get on and do things that in themselves, show how the future of food and farming could be if we had our way. Which, of course, we will continue to strive to do. On behalf of the Soil Association Group, I would like to express my whole-hearted thanks to the many individuaLs, charitable trusts and foundations, companies and symbol holders whose unwavering, continued support has led to great achievements over the past year. It takes an enormous team effort to make progress, and working with you all has created a really amazing teaml Helen Browning Chief Executive Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
b. Charitable objects The objects of the Charity are as follows.. To advance the education of the public by promoting a full understanding of the vital relationship between the health of the soil, plants, animals, people and the environment,. To advance the education of the public by carrying out research land disseminating the results) into agricultural and forestry production methods and the effects of these methods on the quality of food and other outputs on human health and the environment,. To preserve, conserve and protect the environment through the prudent use of natural resources, including by the promotion of organic and sustainable farming techniques,. To promote and enhance human health through providing information and advice in relation to healthy eating and nutrition., and To promote high standards in the care and welfare of farm animals to prevent cruelty to and suffering by farm animals. Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Overview of progress
Overview of Progress: Highlights from 2021/2022
Innovative Farmers’ 10-year anniversary
Presence at COP26
Improving food access for diverse communities
Supporting organic growth
8
Growing better together: Strategy to 2030 vision goals
Our new strategy
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We will strive to support three key transitions by 2030:
1. Farming and land use
2. Diets and lifestyle
3. Connections
Parameters of Reporting
10
Our achievements and performance this year
Impact: Farming and land use (FLU) transition
Growing Individual Support
11
We also helped farmers to learn more about nature-friendly farming this year by supplying a range of information through our networks. This included Organic Farming Magazine which is produced three times per year, monthly Organic Farming News sent out electronically to our 6,300 strong networks, as well as responses to an average of 40-50 producer support enquiries every month. Developing Social Goals To help farmers and land managers in Devon and Somerset navigate the changes brought about by the Agricultural Transition we ran five face-to-face informational workshops, four specialist workshops, as well as the delivery of one-to-one advice to 50 farm businesses under the Defra Future Farm Resilience Fund between October 2021 and March 2022. We are also continuing to develop relationships between researchers and farmers looking for avenues to engage with sustainable practices through our programme Innovative Farmers. The programme, which was created in 2012, is a network now numbering over 12,000 people including farmers, producers and research bodies who run on-farm trials called field labs on topics they wish to explore,. during the trial the process and results are documented in order to share with other members. It is backed by the Soil Association, alongside a team from Linking Environment and Farming ILEAFI, Innovation for Agriculture, and the Organic Research Centre, In the last 12 months, we helped launch a further nine field labs, enabling even more farmers to access a support framewcyk whilst implementing new ideas measures on-farm. Throughout the year, through the European Union's research programme Replacement of Contentious Inputs in Organic Farming Systems IRELACSI we have been involved with several projects exploring innovative and agroecological farm practices. With the aim of connecting, building, and sharing knowledge across the farming community, we have helped to guide. A farmer focus group testing sustainable alternatives to anthelmintics (anti- parasitic drugs that target parasites such as worms) such as heather extract in Scotland, followed by several webinars on the results due to demand. Two farmer field schools to support the reduction of antibiotics. This included trialling the use of essential oils as a treatment for mild mastitis cases as an alternative to antimicrobials. A well-attended meeting with stakeholders from the organic sector in June 2021 to develop plans to promote alternatives to anthelmintic and antibiotic use. This highlighted the needs for further trials to build the evidence base, and wider dialogue on alternative treatments with vets. A trial looking at copper replacement spray programmes for fruit production. Copper based sprays are currently used in organic farming as both a protection for plants against bacterial and fungal diseases and as a foliar fertiliser. The need 12 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
for this trial to find alternatives is because use of copper-based sprays is strictly limited as build-up in the soil can be toxic. A f ield lab looking at alternative mulches to plastic for horticulture. In order to support farmers, foresters and rural businesses in their day-to-day challenges, we have grown our skills and understanding through the Better Rural Innovation.. Linking Actors, Instruments and Policies through Networks ILIAISONI programme, which was funded by EU Horizon. LIAISON is a collaborative project which has been funded within the agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EI P Agril, an initiative launched by the European Commission to foster competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry that "achieves more and better from less" Through our partnership in this programme. we have contributed to the development of best practice in this area and benefited from utilising the practice-ready methods, protocols and tools designed by LIAISON, enabling us to deliver more effective support for change. LIAISON has also enabled us to promote farmer-to-farmer learning as we brought together findings from the Soil Association-managed Scottish Government-funded Rural Innovation Support Service as a case study to the project, and used the findings to produce five practical and accessible How to Guides. We also developed a 12-hour training programme to share the findings of the project and support practitioners to use the tools identified and recommended by LIAISON to improve their practice. Our involvement in this project has also driven potential collaborators and partners towards us. The impact of our involvement in this project is highlighted by this comment, which we received from a participant of the pilot of our training programme.. "Thank you for this opportunity it has made me realise how valuable getting feedback could be for us on different projects. Having a day to think about and evaluate things is something we rarely give ourselves permission forl There are loads of tools LIAISON has created which I can use and adapt for educational and facilitator training purposes, as well as facilitating projects myself in practice. But without coming today that would have been left to chance - coming and being a very tiny part of the process has given the motivation and appetite to go away and play with more of the toolsl Brilliant job and thank youl" We have also been impacting the farming sector through our work on carbon sequestration. Finding pathways to relate carbon sequestration back to farming practices through our Carbon Assets for Soil Health ICASHI project has allowed us to see farmers rewarded financially for the public good, that great soil management can deliver. Through this we have assembled soil and practice data from over 60 farmers and analysed this for correlations. which will feed back into the CASH. Going forward, the learnings from this project will be used to support farmers to improve soil health on- farm by facilitating industry-wide knowledge sharing and collaboration through our new initiative Soil Association Exchange ISAXI, which aims to enable and empower farmers to make positive environmental and social changes on their farm. 15 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
In addition to this, Soil Association joined with Duchy College, the land-based specialist college, and Farm Carbon Toolkit, a community interest company that acts as a vehicle for farmers to work together to reduce farm business greenhouse gas emissions through 'Farm Net Zero,, a five-year funded lottery funded programme to support farmers in the Cornwall to move towards net zero carbon emissions. This year we've also continued to explore the benefits of growing trees on farms and the promotion of silvo-pasture (the integration of trees, forage and livestock grazing) through the publication of our agroforestry handbook. The handbook has been downloaded almost 5,000 times since its initial launch, highlighting how effective a tool it has been for farmers, with content being further developed to create an online learning course to support f urther learning and exploration of this nature-friendly practice. Further to this, in Scotland we have delivered successful peer-to-peer knowledge exchange programmes focused on agroecological approaches and agroforestry. We've also supported the establishment of a Scottish Agroforestry Learning Network. Further programmes are in development for the 2022123 period. Achieving Material Change Alongside the FABulous Farmers programme, the FAB partnership was successful in receiving extra funding to help develop collaboration platforms across Europe. This infrastructure will support more farmers to adopt functional agro-biodiversity farming practices. improving farm biodiversity by facilitating exchanges of knowledge and rewarding farmers for adopting nature-friendly measures. As Innovative Farmers is now embedded in several UK research programmes, we have been using the learnings from the programme to help to ensure that agricultural innovations currently being researched by these programmes are conducted to the highest standard. Our expertise has helped to inform future Innovate UK (the UK'S innovation agency) funding programmes and frameworks, with the end goal of promoting more agroecological practice by ensuring that a higher percentage of Innovate UK'S funding going to farming projects. This reflects our desire to see farmers paid fairly for making sustainable and nature-friendly choices. We have also been furthering this goal by facilitating the introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive for organic farming, to be introduced in 2025. This incentive will pay farmers to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way and is one of the Government's Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMS). ELMS focus on improving the environment by paying farmers for certain environmental benefits, instead of offering payments based on the amount of land farmed and interact with government wider environmental and climate change objectives. In line with this activity, we also concluded our Defra Test to identify mechanisms to monitor ELMS delivery. This will help to facilitate delivery to farming communities, 14 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Next Year
Growing Individual Support
Developing Social Goals
15
calendar year as well as develop report templates for farmers which will enable them to record their results and share them with their peers. We will also gain insights from our European partners and utilise the expertise from researchers at UK CEH. Alongside this, the CASH project will continue to collect soil data, linking the results with farming practice to identify trends and build knowledge across the farming sector. This project will run in parallel to Soil Association Exchange to provide learnings on soil health improvement. We will be running workshops for farmers and producing fact sheets based on the findings of the f irst round of soil testing. We will also be working with the Crop Health and Productivity ICHAPI Agritech Centre to bring key stakeholders together and raise awareness of the need to breed plants "fit for the future" This will kick off with a conference focusing on what we need our future plants to do and in what systems they will need to do this. In 2022 we will also be celebrating the ioih anniversary of Innovative Farmers IIFI. A range of activities will mark this landmark year including an event at Chatham House in the autumn where the Innovative Farmers model will be showcased for a global audience. A minimum of 12 farmer-led field labs will be launched annually to help farm businesses adopt more sustainable farming practices with all our field labs focusing on topics which will support the transition to agroecological farming practices. Achieving Material Change Our work to transform the physical and regulatory landscape continues into 2022123, with activity across the farming and land use landscape. As a result of funding success, we will lead a consortium to develop an agroforestry carbon standard for the UK, which will allow practitioners to prove their commitment to sustainable practice and demonstrate that carbon sequestration is taking place on their farms. To ensure that Defra can effectively support this sector to respond to their transition objectives, we will continue to engage with them and work on an Organic Action Plan for England. We will implement a further Defra test to understand the impact of the current Sustainable Farming Incentive ISFII standards on organic farmers and identify suitable monitoring mechanisms including organic certification. 16 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Impact: Healthy and Sustainable Diets (HSD)
Growing Individual Support
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At least 120,000 citizens connected at FFLGT activities at 2,579 registered activities to date. A UWE Evaluation found that 99/ts of FFLGT organizers surveyed felt that the activity helped participants connect with one another, indicating a positive effect for social cohesion. Between September 2021- March 2022, we saw 821 registrations for FFLGTS network events. According to our post-session survey, 70/0 of attendees agreed that they felt better connected to other people involved in good food activities in their community as a result of the session. 55/ts of attendees reported they were likely to use these connections to support good food activities in their own community. 3,039 organisations or groups have engaged citizens in food issues, initiatives or systems change through FFLGTS to date. Developing Social Goals We are motivated by the belief that good food starts with communities, and at the core of our activities is the belief that the best way of improving access to good food is to work within these communities and empower them to succeed using our knowledge. This year, our work has helped us progress towards our goal of every child learning to cook, grow and access nature. Food for Life is Soil Association's programme making good food the easy choice for everyone through a stratified awards scheme. 286,230 children are now in 821 Food for Life IFFLI participating settings (schools and early years) This represents 4.1/0 of all primary schools in England and 3.4/0 of primary schools and early years settings in England. A Food for Life participating setting is one that is working on or has gained at least one Food for Life award, which are centred on four areas of development demonstrating a commitment to good food.. Food Quality, Food Leadership and Food Culture, Food Education, and Community and Partnerships. This year 92 new primary schools enrolled with Food for Life and 24 new schools awarded Food for Life status-, 32 new early years settings enrolled and 14 were awarded. Supporting every child to have at least one healthy and sustainable meal a day, Food for Life Served Here IFFLSHI is Soil Association's award system for caterers, operated through FFL. A school that has an external caterer (private or local authority) will need to have a caterer with a FFLSH award in order to qualify for a FFL award. FFLSH meals are served in 50/ts of primary schools in England and 54/0 of primary school sites in Scotland. In Scotland, 56% of meals served in primary schools are FFLSH1128,172 meals daily) and 40/0 of meals served in education sites from nursery through to secondary are FFLSH 1139,290 meals daily). All of these meals are freshly prepared, use sustainable ingredients, are made with more locally sourced and ethical ingredients that support local economies. Schools number of children 15 based on Jan 2021 census on roll data Imost recent census data available). Early Years number of children is based on setting capacity reported by setting on enrolment with FFL. Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Our work extends beyond schools. We also support public land large scale privatel sector settings to serve healthy and sustainable menus. 2 million12,053,4571 Food for Life Served Here meals are now served daily across the UK in these sectors, including within 18 of the 32 local authorities in Scotland. This means that over 2 million meals that are better for health, nature and our climate are served every day - over 400 million annually. In addition to this, FFLSH is also served in 50 hospitals and 50 universities. We strive to support all U K (cities andl local authorities lareasl to implement sustainable food policies, strategies, plans and campaigns, The Sustainable Food places partnership, a programme led by the Soil Association, Food Matters and Sustain.. the alliance for better food and farming, makes progress towards this by supporting and celebrating places making positive changes to their food systems and culture. This year, 23 new members joined the Sustainable Food Places partnership. Bristol also became the second Gold award holder alongside Brighton Et Hove after being a member of the Sustainable Food Places Network previously. A Gold award holder has demonstrated that they demonstrate excellence in the areas of Reducing Food Waste and Building a Good Food Movement, in addition to the six pieces of evidence on food related themes needed for the bronze and silver awards. To date, 68 places Icities, towns, boroughs, districts or counties) are establishing cross-sector food partnerships through Sustainable Food Places to transform their local food system and are driving innovation and best practice on all aspects of healthy and sustainable food. Achieving Material Change As part of our work in the healthy and sustainable diets sector, we have also spent the last year influencing policy makers, advocating for policy change, and supporting shifts to healthier and more sustainable choices in places where food is served. We successfully influenced the recommendations related to school food in the National Food Strategy, with our Food for Life programme highlighted as the model to emulate, both in sustainable procurement and a whole school approach. The Strategy recommended that a mandatory accreditation scheme should be developed, informed by Food for Life, indicating the programme's success. In line with our Ultra-Processed Planet report, it also highlighted the impact ultra-processed foods are having on our health, recommending that government take action to break the Junk food cycle,, where retailers oversupply the public with low-nutrient sugary foods and the public in turn demands more of them. We're also enacting policy change as well as influencing it,. all 11 current Public Health commissions have a Food for Life Get Togethers presence and six are also Sustainable Food Place members, meaning that our Healthy and Sustainable Diets ethos has a national presence and the potential to transform further communities. In addition to this, this year the Soil Association has also been working on a place-based model that can be commissioned by local authorities, allowing them to transform the food system from a local level up by bringing together different Soil Association offerings across settings, schemes, communities, and places. 19 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Next Year
Supporting Individual Growth
Developing Social Goals
20
maintain FFLSH awards for their school meals service. We will facilitate opportunities to increase Scottish sourcing for Scottish school meals. Our learning from the FFLGT programme will also help to develop the ways in which we improve community access to good food in 2022123 by.. Building out from FFLGT'S approach to create a networking event offer, giving us the ability to connect all healthy and sustainable diets audiences Co-ordinating a second major research project with Coventry University to understand approaches and metrics which evidence a transition to healthy and sustainable diets in communities and places To support all public and large-scale private sector settings to serve healthy and sustainable menus, we plan to continue the growth of FFLSH and the number of meals served throughout the next year. We aim to achieve this through a new partnership with Unison, as well as by sending a joint letter on the back of the Hospital Food Review encouraging their branch members in NHS sites to push for FFLSH to be applied to staff and retails outlets to drive our business in hospitals. Alongside this, we will be developing a programme of support for further public sector expansion using learning from the 2022-23 pilot expansion in Glasgow. Achieving Material Change In the next year, we intend to further promote policy changes that will make good food more accessible to all, and to advocate for businesses in the food sector to make more Sustainable choices. The government's response to the National Food Strategy will be a key moment for us in the coming year. We will also focus over the next 12 months on capitalising on any opportunities to positively inf luence healthy and sustainable diets policy We believe that our place-based model for local authorities is a good vehicle for this. It is currently in development, and we hope to announce our first place-based commission within the 2022123 year. We will continue driving corporate policy changes through Out to Lunch 2022. Secret diners will review the food offering at 16 of the most-visited and family-friendly visitor attractions, analyzing their food sustainability and health credentials. The Out to Lunch methodology will provide a suitable framework for attractions to create stronger corporate policies on healthy and sustainable diets and we will provide support to caterers and hospitality managers to help develop their policies. The anticipated media attention will add pressure and put the spotlight on businesses to implement change. We also hope to captivate the media's attention with the launch of the Stop Poison Poultry report and subsequent campaign. calling on supermarkets to remove wildlife- killing pesticides from their soya supply chains. This will also include asking citizens to call on supermarkets to address the risks to farm workers and wildlife from exposure to pesticides sprayed on soya crops in Latin America that are fed to intensively-reared 21 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
chickens in the UK. We will develop a robust and meaningful policy that helps supermarket suppliers phase out their use of imported soya, including via the use of alternative feeds. 22 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Impact: Joining Forces for Positive Change
Joining Forces for Personal Change
Joining Forces for Social Change
23
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This is helping us to advance understanding of agroecology and to share practical solutions with a far more diverse audience than we could reach in person, and by extension allowing us to collate feedback that allows us to strengthen our ways of working. We also now know that, typically, the UK public have three opportunities to read about our work each month. This exposure enables us to promote solutions to a vast and diverse network including citizens, farmers, policy makers and businesses. In addition to this, this year we have completed a major analysis of our social media channels, which will help to guide future interactions and help us to engage our networks more effectively on key themes such as biodiversity and agroecology. One such example of this is by engaging citizens through a 'Worm Hunt" and running sessions in person with schools. This year one of our key focuses has been strengthening our internal relationships, policies, and practices so that we have the wherewithal to further build support for the movement and expand our network. We have also had the chance to reflect on our name the Soil Association. Although we might not think about it every day, we have realised that we are a true association, with millions of people engaging in a desire to see us work together to regenerate our planet as part of nature. Our brand refresh, conducted this year, has been a key opportunity to further our progress in this respect. We have been able to summarise our organisational role as 'helping everyone to build natural solutions together, with our new strapline as 'a force for nature,. We are already beginning to see the impact of this refresh as our brand has become more recognisable, with 47/0 of individuals knowing of the Soil Association although we still have more to do to make sure that the public know what we do and want to get involved with the movement with us. The diverse teams in the organisation have engaged in a process to reflect and review what our role means for them in light of our new strategy. As a result of this effort to review. adjustments to creative work, content and internal processes are being rolled out in order make the most of our unique role. We are fortunate to work with incredibly talented people who speak their truth about the solutions they have developed to restore our planet to full health,. our farming ambassadors play a key part in this as a bridge between the Soil Association, farmers, and citizens. As such, we have made efforts to build the sense of community - both internally through our brand workshops, which have given communications colleagues the ability to interact with teams who sit in programmes teams and Certification land vice versal as well as externally through events such as those run by the Agroecology Comms Network, all with the end aim of reinforcing our relationships and our identity as an Association. 24 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Joining Forces for Material change
Next year
Joining Forces for Personal change
25
Joining Forces for Social change
Joining Forces for Material change
26
Our Organisation In order to be a force for nature and help everyone build natural solutions together, we need to be as fit as possible internally. Our capacity to deliver the impact we want in the world is directly related to our organisational culture. This means that we need to ensure we have the funding and people to carry out our activities, and that we need to make sure to maintain our valuable partnerships both externally and internally within the Soil Association Group. Our Funding Soil Association supporters can be assured that we are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and we comply with the regulatory standard for fundraising. The charity benefits from varied income streams and, as the pandemic continued, we were able to maintain income levels as planned. We were also fortunate to receive some Covid-emergency grants. This sustained funding allowed us to continue our charitable work. Our supporters and members are the lifeblood of the charity, supporting our campaigns, signing petitions, amplifying out voice and of course providing vital income. This year, we focused on nurturing and growing our pool of regular supporters who provide critical unrestricted funding for the charity,. more than 10,000 people support us directly as members demonstrating their commitment to climate, nature and health issues through financial support and advocacy of our solution-based approach. Our ambition this year as always was for our members and supporters to have the very best giving experience possible and we have continued to strive to find ways to thanks and steward people so that they understand how important their support is the work of the Soil Association. Overall, this seems to have been successful as our retention rate for members was 90/ and we increased the average lifetime of a member to 14 years. This year, we also received 12 legacy gifts where people had generously decided to include the Soil Association in their will. Moreover, in order to further drive membership signups we launched the Regeneration Fund - an ambitious E8m campaign focused on the six critical projects that will drive progress to reach out 2030 charitable goals. With support from people, companies, and charitable trusts we have raised over £2.3m. We held four virtual roundtable events for people to come and learn about these projects and hear from our experts, reducing reputational risk by giving our supporters the ability to raise queries or concerns about our activities and receive answers. We also hosted our first ever hybrid event in November 2021 for the 4th Annual Peter Melchett Memorial Lecture with Lord Deben as speaker around the theme of "Grounding COP26'. Why farmers hold the key to Nature Based Solutions" We had 133 attendees online and a small VIP audience of 31 people. The aim of this lecture was to inform, 27 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Our People
Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on our workforce
Employee health, safety, and wellbeing
28
Employee engagement
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I)
29
Consideration of Directors’ responsibilities
The likely consequences of any decision in the long term
The interests of the company’s employees
The need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others
The impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment
The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct
30
The need to act fairly as between members of the company
Our Land Trust
31
Soil Association Certification
Soil Association Certification is supporting Individual Farmers, Producers, and Licensees
32
Soil Association Certification is Building Relationships
33
opportunities, payment policy transition and technicallpractical farm walks. We also exhibited at the regenerative agriculture event Groundswell, which attracted 3,500 visitors over two days and generated leads who were interested in finding more about Soil Association Certif ication's work. With lockdown lifting and shopping habits adjusting, Soil Association Certification hosted multiple events and campaigns to share market and consumer insights and support our organic licensees as they adjusted to the changing trade environment and the emergence of new opportunities. We undertook a hybrid or virtual model for many events with over 600 people attending our hybrid trade conference and organic market launch events. Over the year we engaged with approximately 2,000 people through 19 hosted events and talks including on-farm organic learning days, organic fresh produce forum, Brexit webinars, organic beauty and wellbeing panels and selling online sessions, alongside four organic farming webinars and an on-farm event for farming clients in the north of England. Soil Association Certification worked alongside the Organic Trade Board and many organic businesses and retailers to hold another successful Organic September. With over 5 major retailers taking part to influence communities they engage with alongside hundreds of independent retailers, box schemes and farm shops, growth across the month was over 13/0 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and levels of engagement increased significantly as the message that'nature has the answer, hit home. Along with the BOOMS, this campaign engaged citizens on the benefits of organic, with both activities enabling us to reach a wider and more diverse audience through their public facing nature. Organic September has allowed us to build a network of advocates for organic as a nature friendly solution through the attention that it garnered. This includes 247,000 engagements with campaign content via social media, 584 pieces of positive coverage from a 3.9 million strong print and broadcast press reach, and 677 clients downloading our bespoke digital toolkit to help them spread the word about Organic September. In addition to this, 253 retailers joined Organic September Saturday and 87 box schemes and farm shops distributed campaign materials to help them communicate the message to their customers. Soil Association Certification has also been working to build relationships with licensees and interested parties such as Fashion and Textiles UK, where we spoke on their panel discussing 'Sustainability & Ethics within the Fashion and Textiles Industry . We have also created a webinar for Earth Day 2022 with the theme Invest in Our Planet, with the aim of supporting fashion and textiles licensees as well as other interested parties to explore the importance of sustainable and ethical business practices in protecting the planet. This also included an overview the Organic Market Report 2021 and a live Q&A with a panel of industry experts. We have also been promoting sustainable and ethical practices in the Forestry sector. Our work in Forestry has also been going from strength to strength, allowing us to Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Soil Association Certification is Enabling Material Change
35
shoppers to understand and choose products which align to their values, which also helps to drive this market increase, evidenced by the fact that the market for certified organic and natural beauty grew +13/0 in 2020121. In addition to this, COSMOS, our worldwide standard for cosmetics, is now the leading international organic and natural standard for cosmetic products with over 23,000 certified products available worldwide - over three times more than the next leading natural and organic global cosmetics standards. 76/¢ of these meet the COSMOS Organic standard and 24/0 are certified COSMOS Natural, meaning that nature-friendly products are more recognisable and popular everywhere. We're also protecting more forests than ever before by maintaining year-on-year growth in the Forestry and Chain of Custody sector with more than 4,200 certificates issued and an area of over 26 million hectares of forest certified as sustainably managed. This includes consolidation of our strong presence in central and eastern Europe where one of our longest standing certificates based in the Czech Republic has been audited annually against the FSC forest management standard for 22 years. Soil Association Certification is the leading FSC forest management certifier in Romania and has now issued the first PEFC forest management certificate in the country. This year we've also incentivised land managers to make more sustainable choices through the accreditation we offer, which enables them to access 'social benefit, and the financial benefits that it can bring. This has been achieved through the rapid growth of our Woodland Carbon Code validation and verification work produces independently verified carbon units in the UK and is internationally recognised for high standards of sustainable forest management and carbon management. We've completed 108 projects covering 11,461 ha with the potential to sequester over 2 million tonnes of C02e. Furthermore, the first Peatland Code registered restoration project, which achieved validation this year, is almost complete with more in the pipeline with pilot audits and scoping work for other nature-based solutions under way. The Peatland Code is a voluntary certification standard for UK peatland projects wishing to market the climate benefits of restoration, and validated projects must show that they are credible and deliverable in accordance with the standard. In addition to this, to help streamline the process of certification for businesses in 2021122 our Business Improvement project expanded into a Business Improvement programme and launched.. a new public online search facility for suppliers of organic products a client portal to 2,300 organic food Etdrink, health & beauty and textile licensees, which enables licensees to manage their organic certification, view documents, respond to audit actions and submit certification forms an online listing for verified input products a suite of product management tools for internal use improved efficiencies in our organic producer inspections 56 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Scope
Methodology
37
Emissions statistics
Current practice and improvement proposals
38
matches IOO/ts of the electricity we use with power they generate at their own renewable energy farm or power they buy from independent renewable generators. Further improvement in the building's energy efficiency is likely to require significant capital funding for projects such as upgrading the HVAC system (something that could eliminate our use of gasl, upgrading to more modern double glazing, renewing the building roof to incorporate better insulation and installation of solar PV. Current organic and forestry certification regimes require physical inspections at client sites. Often these sites are in rural or out of town locations that cannot be easily accessed by public transport, and in the case of forestry a significant number of clients are overseas necessitating air travel. For so long as the regulations requi re physical inspections a significant degree of business travel will need to be undertaken. Improvements that can be explored include reviewing the scheduling of visits to minimise distances travelled and the fuel efficiency of the vehicles driven. For other UK business travel in the Soil Association Group, we operate a travel hierarchy that encourages online meetings, but when not possible we encourage the use of public transport and car sharing. We are currently in the process of exploring more comprehensive environmental reporting approaches such as the implementation of15014001, a leading international standard for environmental management systems. Such an approach would provide a formal framework within which a wider view of the organisation's environmental footprint can be captured, improvement plans drawn up, and targets set. 59 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Next year Our Funding We see a world where sustainable farming is valued, trees are protected, and we all eat healthy food. We want to find more people who care about the same things that we do, so that we can carry out the work needed to enact lasting change. In order to do that we have to grow our fundraising and out ambition in 2022123 is to grow our fundraising and identify new opportunities to grown income. The charity has made the conscious decision to invest in growing our fundraising over the coming years so that we can reach more supporters and find more people who are inspired by our work. In turn. these supporters will provide a growing income stream to the charity so that we can reach our ambitious 2030 goals to achieve Regeneration. To realise these ambitions, we will focus on recruiting over 2,000 new regular givers to the charity, and look to increase our retention rates for members to 91/. We are looking to reach more companies with sustainable and climate-friendly ambitions who can support our charitable objectives. We are looking forward to growing our partnerships with Pukka Herbs, Blue Diamond, Deloitte and we look forward to working with Ocado who are support our FABulous farmers programme. We are looking forward to talking about our Innovative Farmers programme on BBC Radio 4 as one of their charity appeals in August 2022. As the world starts to open up more, we are looking forward to hosting some in-person events, but we will continue to hold virtual events as they have proved to be popular with so many of our supporters, and allowed us to reach people nationally and internationally. For the year 202212023 we have planned many events so that we can reconnect with our supporters but also reach as large an audience as possible. We will be hosting two in-person walks at Eastbrook farm in the summer, a tour of Highgrove and a dinner in the Autumn, as well as our Annual Peter Melchett Memorial Lecture with a large in person and online audience. Other goals for 22123 include. Continuing to secure funding for the Regeneration Fund and grow major donor income through networks and contacts, and events Building a movement for change- increasing the number and depth of citizens. engagements with us Delivering our gifts in wills. marketing strategy to members and supporters. Recruiting a Volunteer Manager to launch a face-to-face fundraising acquisition programme through talks and presentations to interested groups Identifying opportunities to apply for Trust and grant funding for our Farming and Land Use and Healthy and Sustainable Diets programmes. While at the same time securing trust and statutory funding for a three year policy programme - 'Ten Years for Agroecology 22-25, 40 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Our People
Hybrid working
Employee health, safety, and wellbeing
Employee engagement
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I)
Next year for Our Land Trust
41
Next year for Soil Association Certification
Soil Association Certification is Support Individual Farmers, Producers, and Licensees
Soil Association Certification is Building Relationships
Soil Association Certification is Enabling Material Change
42
Financial review and results for the year
a. Financial Review
2021/22 Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities
43
Grant awards won in 2021122 included the following.. E480k from Scottish Government to fund the continuation of Food for Life in Scotland in 2022123 Ino income recognised in 20211221 E191k from Samworth Foundation for Citizen Insight and Digital Transformation Irecognised in full in 20211221 183k from Erasmus + for the two year Digital Food Education project, where we are the lead partner IE109k income recognised in 20211221 167k from Interreg for the two year Cool Food Pro project, where we are a sub- partner1£20k income recognised in 20201211 E438k130.0/1 decrease in funding earned by the Charity through providing contract and consultancy services to the public and private sectors. These revenues are principally associated with lal our Food for Life work commissioned by local authorities and others as well as the associated Food for Life Served Here scheme being adopted by caterers,- and Ibl contracts for Farming and Land Use consultancy work. Our contract with the Scottish Government to facilitate farmer led innovation finished in the prior year, driving much of the decrease in contract income. In addition, one of our Food for Life commissions ended mid-year, although this has been replaced with two new commissions awarded towards the end of the financial year. Our Food for Life Served Here Scheme has started to recover from the Covid- 19 pandemic with an increase in income vs. the prior year but income was still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. EI,508k117/1 increase in certification income is due to high licensee retention, good growth in the UK organic market and continued growth in income from the Forestry and Chain of Custody sector. Total income received from other trading activities increased by £155k compared to the prior year with most of this increase in SASS, where income from non-primary purpose trading such as corporate sponsorship and affinity partnerships increased by £129k. Other income of £8k relates to claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the financial year, which is significantly reduced from the prior year. This scheme was made available to employers to protectjobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Expenditure on fundraising activities, including membership, was £737k, up £124k120/1 from E613k in the prior financial year. Expenditure on charitable activities during 2021122 increased by £1,478k over the prior financial year to £16,862k. Of this increase.. £657k was in SA Certification due to expenditure returning to more of a normal level as we emerged from the pandemic. Travel was limited in the prior year due to Covid- 19 and measures were also taken to control expenditure at a time when it was difficult to predict the impact the pandemic would have on income. 44 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Reserves at 31 March 2022
Unrestricted funds and reserves
45
Restricted funds and reserves
concern b. Going
46
c. Significant risks and uncertainties
47
d. Structure, governance, and management
Structure and Governance
48
Key Committees and Boards
Trustee Recruitment and Succession Committee
Audit and Risk Committee
Remuneration Committee
Farmer and Grower Board
49
Standards Board
Group Leadership Team / Charity Leadership Team
Pay setting for key management personnel
Relationships with Group entities
50
How we secure funding Soil Association supporters can be assured that we are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and we comply with the regulatory standard for fundraising. We fundraise by submitting applications to grant-giving trusts, by partnering with companies to deliver joint benefits and by securing donations and gifts-in-wills from individuals and members. Our fundraising from supporters takes the form of appeals, and direct asks-, face-to-face, by letter, by phone or by email. Last year, we continued to use Ethicall telemarketing agency to deliver telephone campaigns to fundraise and reactivate lapsed or cancelled members. We always ensure that any agency we use to assist us with our fundraising is fully accredited with the relevant industry bodies and registered with the Fundraising Regulator. We expect them to also observe the highest standards in terms of fundraising practice and deliver the most sustainable and ethical business practices. We approve the wording of all telephone scripts used and all phone calls are recorded, which we monitor on a regular basis to ensure they are following fundraising best practice. The fundraising, supporter development and citizen marketing team - an in-house team of 19 full and part-time fundraisers and marketeers - are familiar with, and work in accordance with, the Fundraising Regulator's code of practice. The team keep abreast of new fundraising trends and practices, always ensuring that the interests of our donors are at the heart of all we do. Our focus is to strive for all donors to have the very best giving experience when they support the work of the Soil Association, and we use up-to-date policies, procedures and informal training to look after the needs of vulnerable people. This financial year we received no complaints about our fundraising. All donors are given the opportunity to update their preferences in how we communicate with them. They can contact us by phone, post or email to change their preferences at any time, and all of our emails offer a one-click unsubscribe option to facilitate easy change of preferences. We also update our records whenever we are notified of undelivered mail, or if we are notified by an official institution such as a bank that a member is deceased. Everyone we contact has the opportunity to remove themselves from future communications and we are committed to carefully monitoring the content and frequency of our approach to individuals. On our website there are easy to find policies, including. privacy policy, complaints https'.//www.soilassociation.orglmedia1142491soil-association-charity-complaints- procedure.pdfl, safeguarding, our approach to GDPR and our supporter promise. si Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
e. Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities
52
Martin Nye Chair of the Board of Trustees
53
Independent auditor’s report to the members of the Soil Association Limited
54
Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast signif icant doubt on the group's or parent charitable company s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. Other information The other information comprises the information included in the Trustee's Report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustee's Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. ss Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Opinions on other rnatters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit.. the information given in the Trustee's Report, which includes the Directors, Report and the Strategic Report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the f inancial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements,. and the Directors, Report and the Strategic Report included within the Trustee's Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. Matters on which we are required to report by exception In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and their environmct obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors, Report or the Strategic Report included within the Trustee's Report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 require us to report to you if, in our opinion.. adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us," or the parent charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns,. or certain disclosures of trustees, remuneration specified by law are not made,. or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees. responsibilities set out on page 52, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company lawl are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group s and parent charitable company s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 96 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAS IUKI will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from f raud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. The extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities. including fraud Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit. In relation to f raud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected f raud identified during the audit. However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entitys operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud. In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the group audit engagement team- obtained an understanding of the nature of the sector, including the legal and regulatory framework that the group and parent charitable company operate in and how the group and parent charitable company are complying with the legal and regulatory framework", inquired of management, and those charged with governance, about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, including any known actual, suspected or alleged instances of fraud,. S7 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
discussed matters about non-compliance with laws and regulations and how fraud might occur including assessment of how and where the financial statements may be susceptible to fraud. As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, Charities SORP IFRS 1021, Companies Act 2006, Charities Act 2011, the parent charitable company s governing document, tax legislation and Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements which included reviewing the financial statements including the Trustees, Report, remaining alert to new or unusual transactions which may not be in accordance with the governing documents, inspecting correspondence with local tax authorities and evaluating advice received from internallexternal advisors. The most significant laws and regulations that have an indirect impact on the financial statements are those in relation to ongoing accreditations with International Organic and Sustainable Accreditation, United Kingdom Accreditation Service and Assurance Services International, fundraising regulations and GDPR compliance. We performed audit procedures to inquire of management whether the company is in compliance with these law and regulations and inspected correspondence with licensing or regulatory authorities. The group audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls and income recognition as the areas where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments, evaluating the business rationale in relation to signif icant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside the normal course of business, challenging judgments and estimates, performing substantive analytical review over income, testing a sample of invoices, funding agreements and donations around year end to confirm cut-off, and agreeing a sample of invoices raised and income recognised in the year to source contracts, funding agreements, and other donation and legacy documentation. A f urther description of our responsibilities for the audit of the f inancial statements is provided on the Financial Reporting Council's website at tt www.fr This description forms part of our auditor's report. 98 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Use of our report This report is made solely to the charitable company s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company s member5 as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. KERRY GALLAGHER Isenior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants Second Floor, l The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BSI 6DG Date: 11 A9st2022 99 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
Financial Statements
a. Consolidated statement of financial activities
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60
b. Charity statement of financial activities
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61
c. Consolidated balance sheet
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d. Charity balance sheet
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63
e. Consolidated statement of cash flows
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64
f. Charity statement of cash flows
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65
g. Notes to the Financial Statements
1. Accounting Policies
66
l. Accounting policies (continued) Group financial statements The financial statements consolidate the results of the Charity and other Group entities listed on page 50 on a line by line basis. Intra-group income and expenditure transactions are eliminated on consolidation. Income Income is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount can be measured reliably. Legacies.. Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either.. the Charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estale has been finalised and notification has been made by the executorlsl to the Charity that a distribution will be made. or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part. is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the Charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution., Grant income. including income from government grants, is recognised at the fair value of the asset received or receivable when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and the grants will be received. A grant that specifies performance conditions is recognised in income when the performance conditions are met . Where a grant does not specify performance conditions it is recognised in income when the proceeds are received or receivable . A grant received before the recognition criteria are satisfied is recognised as a liability. Certification fees are recognised at the date that the licences are granted or renewed. Application fees for new licences are recognised as income when formal appraisal of the application takes place. In the event of suspension or terminalion of licences. or rejection of an applicalion, fees are not refundable and no obligation for this is therefore recognised at the balance sheet date, Contracted donations and gifts are recognised according to the contract terms." Donations and gifts are recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds. any performance conditions attached to the donation have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.. and Activity income is recognised when the activity takes place. Financial instruments The group only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value. 67 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
l. Accounting policies (continued) Expenditure Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable thal settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings.. Costs of raising funds are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions. including membership and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities. Expenditure on charitable activities include the costs incurred to further the purposes of the Charity, including associated support costs. Expenditure on trading activities represents the costs incurred to undertake trading activities such as those underlaken by SA Sales & Services Ltd. Employee Benefits The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense. The holiday year for Soil Association Group ends at the reporling date and employees were entitled to carry forward up to 7 days of any unused holiday entitlement for a full time employee (pro- rated for part-time employees) at the reporting date. The cost of any unused entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee's services are received. Allocation of support costs Support costs are those functions that asslst the work of the Charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. These costs have been allocated between the cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The basis on which support costs have been allocated is set out in note 11. Intangible fixed assets Goodwill is calculated as the difference between the fair value of the consideration on the acquisition of a business and the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities. Soflware is initially recorded at cost and subsequently measured at cost less amortisation and impairment. Amortisation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an intangible fixed asset. less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows.. Goodwill Software seven years straight-line method three to eight years straight-line method The net book value of goodwill is reviewed annually for any significant change in useful life or residual value. Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
l. Accounting policies (continued) Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Tangible fixed assets are capitalised and included at cost including any incidental expenses of acquisition, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment. Donated assets are included in the balance sheet at their fair value at the date of the gift and also included in the SOFA as an incoming resource. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets. other than freehold land. at rates calculated to write off the cost on a slraight-line basis over their expected useful economic life as follows.. Freehold buildings Leasehold improvements Building improvements Office equipment.. Fixtures and fittings Office equipment.. IT network hardware Office equipment.. other IT equipment Machinery renewable energy systems fifty years straight-line method evenly over the lease term ten years slraight-line method five to ten years straight-line method five to eight years straight-line method three years straight-line method twenty years straight-line method The Companies Act 2006 requires tangible fixed assets to be depreciated over a finite period. The trustees of the Soil Association Land Trust Limited consider that the freehold land and buildings held by the trust have an infinite life. and residual values to be high enough to ensure thal there is no significant annual depreciation. Consequently, the trustees consider that to depreciate these assets would not provide a true and fair view and so the financial statements depart from this specific requirement in the Companies Act 2006. If this departure from the Companies Act 2006 had not been made. the surplus for the financial period may have been decreased by depreciation The amount of this depreciation is not considered material because of the indefinite life of these assets and the trustees have invoked a true and fair override. Impairments Fixed assets are reviewed for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable or as otherwise required by relevant accounting standards. Shortfalls between the carrying value of fixed assets and their recoverable amounts, being the higher of net realisable value and value- in-use. are recognised as impairments. Impairment losses are recognised in the SOFA. 69 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
l. Accounting policies (continued) Fixed asset investments Investments in the group are held to generate income or for their investment potential. They are stated at market value at the balance sheet dale. The SOFA includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations and from disposals throughout the year. In the Charity balance sheet. investments in subsidiaries are also included. stated at the cost of the nominal value of the shares issued. Debtors Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. Creditors Creditors are recognised where the Charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event thal will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts used. Employee benefits The group contributes to money purchase schemes to which employees also contribute. The amount charged to the SOFA is the contribution payable in the year. The group has no other pension liabilities. Termination payments The best estimate of the expenditure required to settle an obligation for termination benefits, is recognised immediately as an expense, when the Group is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of ar) employee. or to provide terminatior) benefits. Finance and operating leases Where assets are financed by leasing agreements thai give righls approximating to ownership I finance leases"). the assets are treated as if they had been purchased outright. The amount capitalised is the present value of the minimum lease payments payable during the lease term. The corresponding leasing commitments are shown as obligations to the lessor. Lease paymenls are treated as consisting of capital and interest elements. and the interest is charged to the SOFA in proportion to the remaining balance outstanding. All other leases are "operating leases" and the annual rentals are charged to the SOFA on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 70 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
l. Accounting policies (continued) Foreign currencies Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the surplus. Taxation The Soil Association Limited and Soil Association Land Trust Limited are registered charities and as such are exempt from taxation of their income and gains falling within part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that they are applied to its charitable objectives. No tax charges have arisen in the year. The profits of the following subsidiaries of the Charity are subject to corporation tax. However, no tax charge will arise as any taxable profits will be distributed to the Charity. Soil Association Certification Limited.. SA Sales and Services Limited,. Provision for deferred taxation is made in the subsidiary companies at the appropriate rates in respect of all material timing differences only to the extent that. in the opinion of the trustees, there is a reasonable probability that an asset or liability will crystallise in the foreseeable future. Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors. including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The key judgements made in these financial statements are considered to be'.- Income recognition. particularly around restricted grants. where management need to make a judgement, with reference to the grant agreement, whether receipt of the income is probable or not. The level of provision held against debts which may not be fully recoverable. particularly within 5011 Association Certification Limited where a provision of E459k12021'. £340kl was recognised in respect of debts not deemed to be recoverable. In the Charity a much smaller provision of E21k12021.' £17kl is held in respect of debts not deemed to be recoverable. No depreciation is charged on the freehold land and buildings held by the Soil Association Land Trust Limited due to the judgement made by the trustees of the trust that these assets have an infinite life and that their residual values are high enough to ensure that there is no significant annual depreciation 71 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
2. Income from Donations and Legacies
Group
Charity
72
3. Income from Charitable Activities
Group
Charity
73
4. Income from Other Trading Activities
Group
Charity
74
5. Investment Income
Group
Charity
6. Other Income
Group
Charity
75
7. Expenditure on Charitable Activities
Group
Charity
76
8. Staff Numbers and Costs, Trustee Remuneration and Expenses and the Cost of Key Management Personnel
Group
| Group | ||
|---|---|---|
| . | ||
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | |
| =========== | =========== | |
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| Charity | ||
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======= ======= ======== =======
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78
- Staff Numbers and Costs, Trustee Remuneration and Expenses and the Cost of Key Management Personnel (continued) Key Management Personnel The key management personnel of the parent Charity comprise the trustees, Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Charity Managing Director (previously Deputy CEO), Director of Communications, Programmes Director (previously Impact and Insights / Scotland Director), Director of Development and Policy and Strategy Director. The total employee benefits (including employers National Insurance and pension contributions) of the key management personnel of the Charity were £506,00012021. £511,000) The key management personnel of the group comprise those of the Charity and those of its wholly owned subsidiary Soil Association Certification Limited. The key management personnel of Soil Association Certification are the Chief Executive , Business Development Director and Food and Non Food Director (previously Operation Director) whose employee benefits totalled E241,00012021. £256,000). The total employee benefits of key management personnel for the Group were therefore £747,00012021'. E767,0001 79 Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
9. Analysis of Expenditure
Group
Charity
80
10. Net (Expenditure) / Income for the Year
Group
| Charity | ||
|---|---|---|
| ========== | ========== |
81
11. Support Costs
Group and Charity
12. Taxation
Group and Charity
82
13. Intangible Assets
Group
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- | |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | |
| Charity | |||
| ----------------------- | |||
| At 31 March 2022 | |||
| ----------------------- | |||
| ----------------------- | |||
| ----------------------- | |||
| ========== | ========== | ||
| ========== | ========== |
83
14. Tangible Fixed Assets
Group
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
84
Charity
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
85
15. Fixed Asset Investments
Group and Charity
Group and Charity
| ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|
| ========== | ========== |
| ========== | ========== |
| ========== | ========== |
Charity
==========
86
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- |
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| =========== | ========== | ========== | =========== | ========== |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- |
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87
16. Debtors
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| =========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
17. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | -------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========= |
88
18. Creditors: Amounts Falling Due After More Than One Year
| ------------------- | ----------------------- | --------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ========= | ========== | ========== | ========== |
89
19. Contingent Liabilities
20. Leasing Commitments
| Group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- | |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ======== | |
| Charity | ||||
| --------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | |
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
90
21. Designated Funds
Group
Charity
| ---------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
|---|---|---|
| ======= | ======== | ======= |
| ---------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
| ======= | ======== | ======== |
91
22. Total Funds
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Group prior year
| ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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93
Charity
Charity prior year
| ----------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ======== | ======== | ======== | ======== | ======== |
| ---------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | --------------- | ---------------- |
| ======== | ======== | ======= | ======= | ======= |
Restricted funds
94
Net assets by fund
Group
Charity
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|---|---|
| ========== | ========== | ========== | ========== |
95
23. Cash Flow Information
Group
| ---------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|
| ========== | ========== |
96
Charity
| -------------------- | ---------------------- |
|---|---|
| ========= | ========== |
97
24. Financial Instruments
25. Related Party Transactions
Group and Charity
98
26. Capital Commitments
Group and Charity
99
27. Comparative Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities
| ----------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------- |
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| =========== | =========== | ========== |
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100
h. Reference and administrative details REGISTERED CHARlf( NUMBER 206862 IEngland and Wales) SC039168 Iscotlandl REGISTERED COMPANY 00409726 GOVERNING DOCUMENT Articles of Association ROYAL PATRON HRH The Prince of Wales CONSTITUTION Company limited by guarantee HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS Charlotte Mitchell Jonathan Dimbleby Trudie Styler REGISTERED OFFICE Spear House 51 Victoria Street Spear House Bristol BSI 6AD TRUSTEES Martin Nye Ichairl Thomas Bourne Ivice-chairl Andrew Burgess Phil Fearnley Sepideh Goizari Steven Lizars Graeme Matravers. resigned 31 October 2021 Caroline Missen Isabel Oliver Rosemary Radcliffe Jonathan Spencer BANKER5 Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BSI SAS Lloyds Bank Canons House Canons Way Bristol BS99 7LB GROUP KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL Chief Execulive - Helen Browning Chief Operating Officer - Martin Dawson Charity Managing Director - James Cashmore Director of Marketing and Comms - lan Ayling Programmes Director - Aoife Behan Director of Development - Louisa Pharoah Policy and Strategy Director - Joanna Lewis SA Certification Chief Executive Martin Sawyer, left 31 May 2022 SA Certification Chief Executive Dominic Robinson. started 23 May 2022 SA Certification Business Development Director Clare McDermott, left 9 March 2022 SA Certification Food & Non Food Director Hannah Turner SOLICITOR Veale Wasbrough Vizards Narrow Quay House Narrow Quay Bristol BSI 4QA AUDITOR RSM UK Audit LLP Second Floor IThe Square Temple Quay Bristol BSI 6GD COMPANY SECRETARY Emma Hussey ioi Soil Association Ltd. Company Registration Number.. 00409726 Registered Charity Number.. 206862 Registered Charity Number lin Scotlandl.. SC039168
To find out more visit: www.soilassociation.org
Soil Association, Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AD T 0300 330 0100 F 0117 314 5001
Registered charity no. 206862
Soil Association Scotland, 20 Potterrow, Edinburgh EH8 9BL
T 0131 370 8150
Registered charity no. SC039168
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If you require this document in an alternative format, please email digitalteam@soilassociation.org to request a copy.
Cover image: Woodoaks Farm and Sue Lacey
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