SRP Welcomes Lidl GB Becoming the First UK Supermarket to Offer SRP-Verified Own-Label Rice

The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) is pleased to welcome an important milestone in sustainable rice sourcing, with Lidl GB becoming the first UK supermarket to offer own-label rice verified under the SRP Standard. This milestone, as shared by Lidl GB, reflects growing momentum within the retail sector to strengthen sustainability, traceability, and responsible sourcing practices across global rice value chains. By introducing SRP Verified Rice to consumers, Lidl GB demonstrates how retailers can contribute to more sustainable agricultural production systems while promoting transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain.

About Rice

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population and a critical source of livelihood for millions of farmers globally. At the same time, rice cultivation faces increasing environmental and climate-related challenges, including intensive freshwater use, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate vulnerability.

Read more >> Why Choose SRP-Verified Rice? – Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP)

International references, including the IRRI Bangkok Declaration, have highlighted that rice production accounts for approximately 30–40% of global irrigation water use and around 10% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. In parallel, millions of rice producers continue to face economic vulnerability and unstable livelihoods.

In response to these interconnected challenges, the SRP Standard promotes a holistic sustainability framework that integrates environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable rice production. While environmental and social outcomes remain central to SRP’s assurance framework, the Standard also places strong emphasis on economic viability to ensure sustainable rice production remains practical and beneficial for farmers, businesses, and value chains alike.

The SRP Standard supports improved farm productivity, profitability, and viable business models for smallholder farmers. Through improved resource efficiency, farmers can reduce production costs while strengthening productivity, resilience, and long-term sustainability outcomes. SRP framework also addresses broader sustainability priorities, including food security, livelihoods, biodiversity protection, greenhouse gas reduction, labor conditions, and responsible resource use.

“We are delighted to see Lidl GB taking leadership in offering Sustainable Rice to its customers. Rice has a significant impact on the climate and the local environment. By sourcing SRP Verified Rice, Lidl GB sends a strong signal about its commitment to sustainability to its customers and at the same time directly helps farmers to be more productive, protect their local environment and ensure climate resilience.”
Peter McAllister, Executive Director at Sustainable Rice Platform

Human rights and social inclusion are also embedded within the SRP framework. The SRP Standard includes requirements related to fair labor practices, worker health and safety, non-discrimination, and the prohibition of child labor. In addition, SRP’s Gender Policy promotes greater inclusion and participation of women across rice value chains, recognizing the critical contribution women make within global rice production systems.

Read more about: SRP Gender and Social Inclusion Policy

To support transparency and credibility throughout the supply chain, SRP has also developed RiceTrace, SRP’s digital traceability platform designed to support compliance, chain-of-custody management, and traceability across verified rice supply chains. RiceTrace helps streamline operations for verified units while strengthening confidence and transparency from farm to market.

The growing international recognition of SRP further reflects increasing momentum toward credible sustainability frameworks for rice production. SRP was recently recognized as one of the Top 12 Most Ambitious Certifications in the Netherlands by Milieu Centraal following assessment by independent experts. In addition, SRP has also been recognized through the FAO Global Technical Platform for its contribution to advancing sustainable rice cultivation and supporting improved sustainability outcomes for smallholder rice production systems.

The launch of SRP Verified own-label rice builds on Lidl GB’s long-standing commitment to responsible sourcing and follows the achievement of its 2025 raw material targets. This milestone also reflects Lidl GB’s ongoing efforts to address environmental and human rights considerations across supply chains.

Reflecting on this achievement, Lidl GB shared:

SRP congratulates Lidl GB on this important achievement and appreciates its continued commitment to responsible sourcing, sustainability leadership, and support for more responsible rice value chains. The introduction of SRP Verified Rice into the UK retail market represents another encouraging step toward scaling sustainable rice production while supporting farmers, strengthening traceability, and advancing sustainability outcomes across the sector.

By Thanaporn Thammawongsa, Jidapa Noosawas

SRP Welcomes Lidl GB Becoming the First UK Supermarket to Offer SRP-Verified Own-Label Rice

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