Over 170 major food and beverage companies have banded together to launch a global framework for regenerative agriculture. This marks the first globally aligned approach for the transition to regenerative agriculture practices, in line with bringing about large-scale, long-term systemic change to future-proof the world’s food supply.
Called “Regenerating Together”, the framework was established by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), a non-profit network of influential actors in the industry. Prominent members include Nestlé, Danone, PepsiCo, and Unilever.
The framework brings together crops, dairy, and beef farmers worldwide to work with supply chain partners to achieve measurable regenerative agriculture outcomes. It is designed for practical use at farm-level, helping drive farmers’ transition to regenerative agriculture.
“The potential impact is huge and the development of this global framework through cross-industry collaboration is a key step towards scaling the transition to more sustainable farming practices.”
According to SAI Platform, the framework has already been tested by over 20 leading FMCG businesses and farmer cooperatives across their global supply chains. With more than half of the world’s agricultural land degraded and a rising global demand for food, SAI emphasizes the urgency to transform agricultural practices to ensure future food security.
“We urgently need to transition towards a more regenerative food system — for our people and our planet,” Yves Leclerc, global director of agriculture sustainability at McCain and steering committee chair of the SAI Platform program, stated.
“As chair of the Regenerating Together Steering Committee, I am delighted that the framework launched today will enable farmers to take action and implement regenerative practices, and crucially support the measurement and verification of progress.”
Driving measurable outcomes for a resilient food supply chain
Previous definitions of regenerative agriculture have largely been unclear, causing confusion and preventing the advancement of corporate sustainability efforts. This has resulted in many dismissing the term as “greenwashing”.
Speaking at the launch, vice-president business operations sustainability at Unilever Eric Soubeiran says the framework has “grown from the industry recognizing that we must evolve our approach to sustainable agriculture” and “drive measurable outcomes to create a resilient food supply chain”.
“As individual organisations, we have set targets to implement regenerative agricultural practices, but this new framework brings leaders together to work towards one common commitment,” he said. “We believe this framework sets a new standard for regenerative agriculture globally, whilst providing the flexibility that’s needed at farm level.”
The SAI Platform framework sees over 30 agriculture cooperatives, industry giants, and its own members collaborate with farmers, academia, NGOs, and other businesses to establish an aligned approach to agriculture. This will center around mitigating and adapting to the impact of climate change, improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, retaining water in soil, and reducing its consumption — all while ensuring farmers’ business viability is maintained in a just transition approach.
“Having piloted the resources with our growers, I see the potential this can have to provide clarity and consistency on what regenerative agriculture means and the outcomes we are looking to achieve,” commented Leclerc. “The potential impact is huge and the development of this global framework through cross-industry collaboration is a key step towards scaling the transition to more sustainable farming practices.”
Founding member of SAI and ABF Sugar group ESG director Katharine Teague added that the platform is “looking forward to a framework that delivers long-term impacts for our farmers and value chain”.
“By coming together, we can find workable solutions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and reducing soil health,” she said.
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