Sustainable agri-food investments require multi-sector co-development of decision tools

Collaborative co-development of decision tools by researchers and corporate and financial actors, that draws upon their distinct needs and knowledge sets, can improve the utility of these tools for real-world application (e.g. assessing non-financial returns; mitigating reputational risk).This paper proposes new requirements and strategies for the scientific community to contribute to co-development of science-based indicators and other decision tools that better enable agri-sector companies and investors to integrate food system sustainability considerations into management and capital allocation. It will present early lessons from multi-sector engagement in construction of indices, such as the Agrobiodiversity Index (ABDI), and review new modes for research institutions to engage with private sector partners