In recent years, the food industry has faced major challenges. With global crises threatening the security of supply chains, the EU and UN announcing ambitious climate targets, and more and more companies setting ambitious, science-based emissions targets, there is an increasing urgency to find creative solutions. Food companies, investors and consumers want to ensure a reliable supply of products while shaping a greener future.

Food industry supply chains cannot function without their most important element: agriculture. Farms from dairy to wheat to vegetable farms are the first important step in the production process, providing raw materials that travel through the supply chain to the final products. Moving away from outdated, inefficient and polluting farming practices that damage soils is key to transforming our food production in a resilient and environmentally friendly way.

There is a growing consensus in the food industry, among farmers and consumers that regenerative agriculture is the future of the agricultural sector. Regenerative agriculture methods hold enormous potential for businesses, farmers and the environment - and the world is taking note. The "4-per-1000 Initiative", launched by the French government during the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, affirms an international vision of healthy soils as the key to combating climate change through carbon sequestration.[1] Members of the initiative, including 68 countries and many more international companies and non-governmental organisations, farmer associations, research institutions and private companies, commit to storing carbon in their soils by scaling up regenerative agriculture, grazing and land use practices.

Food consumers:in also view agriculture as an important aspect of global sustainability. A 2022 Food Trends report, which analyzed over 1 million restaurants, 22 billion social interactions, and 4 million recipes, found that consumer:ers are increasingly interested in the terms "regenerative agriculture" and "carbon footprint," and are paying close attention to which brands are adopting sustainable practices and which are merely masquerading as environmentally friendly. [2]

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Regenerative agriculture

As a reminder, regenerative agriculture refers to a set of agricultural practices that contribute to humus accumulation (fertile topsoil) in the soil. These techniques include crop rotation, the use of cover crops, reducing soil disturbance, integrating livestock, and preserving roots. See our Regenerative Agriculture page for more details on each of these methods.

"Reports from leading organizations such as the FAO, IPCC, and EAT Forum point to the fundamental importance of transitioning to regenerative agriculture practices if Europe is to meet its climate goals, ensure food security, protect its farmland, and build a healthier food system." - European Institute of Innovation and Technology [3]

Regenerative agriculture methods actively store carbon in the soil and have the potential to make agriculture climate positive, i.e. generating negative carbon emissions through carbon sequestration. This is an extremely significant achievement considering that traditional agriculture is currently responsible for about 1/4 of all global emissions.

Hundreds of long-term field experiments around the world have been documented in the extensive literature demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of regenerative agriculture techniques in carbon sequestration.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The positive effects of these agricultural practices on climate are measurable, consistent, reliable and essential for future yield security.

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A more resilient, cost-efficient supply chain

Regenerative agriculture helps to increase the climate resilience of value chains, as its practices radically improve soil water storage [12] and soil fertility [13]. This means that farms, and thus other actors in the supply chain, are better able to cope with climate variability. As adverse weather events such as floods and droughts become more frequent and threaten crop yields, this advantage of regenerative agriculture is particularly important.

Regenerative agriculture also leads to higher quality products - initial research suggests that crops grown using regenerative methods have higher nutritional value [14]. As nutrient density becomes increasingly important to consumers [15], this is an important added benefit of regenerative agriculture.

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A climate-friendly and strategic solution

Unilever, PepsiCo and Walmart are just a few of the many multinationals that have come to the same conclusion: Regenerative agriculture holds enormous potential to help companies meet their emissions targets, secure future-proof supply chains and meet consumer demand for high-quality products. Integrating regenerative agriculture into the supply chain also ensures the long-term profitability of investments, as investors continue to favour companies with positive environmental impacts.

"Regenerative agriculture is key to the food sector's future viability." - EIT Food [16]

Regenerative agriculture is the future, and the food industry is already seizing the valuable opportunities to build more resilient, environmentally friendly supply chains. Transforming the agricultural system into one that contributes to supply chain resilience and decarbonization is an urgent task that demands decisive action from the food industry now. By restoring our soils, we could sequester up to 11 billion tons of CO₂ emissions annually while increasing crop production and building climate resilience."[17]

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So what does this look like in practice?

Let's assume you are the largest manufacturer of ice cream in Germany and have many satisfied consumers. It's summer and you know that your sales will soon skyrocket. However, there have been many challenges in recent years: You have been struggling with supply chain issues and have not been able to meet ambitious emissions targets. You are looking for a creative solution to solve these problems while meeting the needs of your customers for a reliable supply of ice cream. You decide that incorporating renewable agricultural practices into your supply chain is the strategic step, and you partner with Klim to facilitate the process. Together with your supplier, you begin to introduce your dairy farmers to the Klim app, and they begin to adopt regenerative practices within your own value chain. Farmers document their progress, and Klim digitally quantifies and verifies their carbon storage impact. In addition, your supply chain becomes more resilient and you gain the loyalty of your farmers, future-proofing your value chain. ‍

Sources: [1], [ 2], [3 ] original citation in English, [ 4], [ 5], [ 6], [ 7], [ 8], [ 9], [ 10], [ 11], [ 12], [ 13], [ 14], [ 15], [ 16 ] original citation in English, [ 17]

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