Sustainability, Collaboration, and Farmer Opportunities: Highlights from the SWOF Panel Discussion with Industry Leaders (Part 1)
On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the Iowa Soybean Association Board of Directors hosted a panel discussion with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) on growing market opportunities for farmers from various private sector sustainability initiatives. SWOF welcomed several partner representatives to speak on their expanding investments in regenerative agriculture. Below we recap part of the discussion and share key takeaways for our community of farmers. Panelists included:
Dan Christenson, PepsiCo
Ryan Sirolli, Cargill
Andrew Utterback, Ingredion
Corporate Sustainability Goals and Regenerative Agriculture
As companies work to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, many are focusing on those within their supply chain, or Scope 3. Scope 3 encompasses emissions that are not produced by the company itself, nor do they result from activities of assets owned or controlled by the company. Rather, Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions are those a company is indirectly responsible for up and down its value chain during the sourcing, processing, and transportation of a good or service.
To calculate these emissions accurately, companies often use a combination of data collection methods, including on-farm measurements, modeling, and data from agricultural research institutions. Soil management practices such as no-till or reduced tillage, cover crops, and crop rotations can help sequester carbon. Emissions from soil management practices can be counted by assessing the impact on soil carbon levels.
Ryan Sirolli from Cargill explained that Cargill’s Scope 3 emissions result from a wide variety of sources; however, the most significant sources include emissions from beef, row crops, and transportation.
“We have a commitment to reduce our Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. To help us meet our goal, we are focusing our efforts in the supply chains and regions where we can have the most significant impact, including enabling farmer adoption of regenerative agriculture practices. We are actively working to reduce emissions within our operations, but to meet our goals we will need to invest in partnerships with producers to find ways to help reduce our footprint at the farm gate.”
Dan Christenson of PepsiCo noted that while the company’s goals are not directly driven by policy, it is certainly a key factor. As a publicly traded company, shareholder expectations are another common influencer. He also recognized sustainability’s role in shaping PepsiCo’s internal culture. “We hear it directly from our employees. I want to know what we’re doing and how PepsiCo is leading efforts to benefit people and the planet…I want to be proud to work for PepsiCo.”
All three panelists agreed that the goals of their corporations are ambitious, such as PepsiCo's 7-million-acre, Cargill’s 10-million-acre, and Ingredion's 1-million-acre commitment to transition to regenerative agriculture practices. Collaboration with partners who share similar values is crucial in achieving these acreage goals. Such ambitious targets require support from various stakeholders, including agricultural associations, like the Iowa Soybean Association, programs like the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, and most importantly, farmers.
Setting clear goals is the first step in understanding the effort, resources, and strategies required to meet these sustainability objectives. Measuring the impact of sustainability efforts, especially on a global scale, is also a complex challenge. Andrew Utterback from Ingredion said, they use a variety of metrics to assess improvements in water quality and at manufacturing sites. They also take a local approach to community projects with their initiative called "Your Cause" that involves charity events and employee participation while also integrating these efforts into a larger system. They acknowledge the ongoing work to better understand what works in different communities and how to measure their impact holistically.
While the goals are ambitious and they are still refining measurement, Utterback stressed that the goals are important for accountability. “If you don’t set a goal or a target, and start measuring, how are you ever going to make any improvement? We needed to set these aggressive goals and targets, and then the next part, right, is how do you find partners to help you get there? None of us can accomplish these things on our own.”
Partnerships Are a Key Resource
All panelists expressed the importance of collectively working together toward long-term solutions that yield benefits on and off the land. Dan Christenson from PepsiCo shared optimism for what lies ahead, noting:
“We’re super excited to see where our work with SWOF will take us. We work with a lot of implementors, and the team you have here is truly best in class and we’re excited to engage more peers and customers around our work together...” Christenson also noted that he’s excited to bring other private sector players into the company’s focus on regenerative agriculture, citing a recent collaboration announcement with major retailer, Walmart. “We’ve been sharing with others how important it is to simply listen to farmers, hearing them out, learning from them, dialogue. And then use our size and scale to offer voluntary, incremental, opportunities to transition to regenerative agriculture with the goal of supporting their livelihoods as impacts of climate change continue to evolve.”
As one of those companies brought into the effort by PepsiCo, Andrew Utterback from Ingredion also expressed excitement for continued efforts through the program. “Our good friends at PepsiCo invited us into a SWOF project three years ago, I want to say, and we’ve worked with them on a couple of solo projects now, and it’s almost like a snowball rolling downhill. So, we did the project with PepsiCo, all of a sudden, other customers call and say, hey you’re doing this project? Well, it’s really interesting. Can we do something? And more customers see it.”
He expressed that Ingredion wants growers to know they are serious about their investment in regenerative agriculture. He noted how the concept has evolved over the past several years. New strategies and partnerships, like those with SWOF, are helping to navigate the path toward meeting Ingredion’s sustainability goals effectively. “We’re not saying regenerative agriculture because it’s a buzzword…It will make your supply chain, it will make your farms more resilient – if we do it correctly and find the right partners that will execute – You are going to make more money doing this. And that’s going to be a benefit to everybody throughout the supply chain.”
In the second half of this article we’ll share next week, the panelists discuss how the concept of regenerative agriculture has made large strides in recent years to add more value for farmers. The guests also answered several questions from the ISA Board of Directors and discussed areas where continued improvement and collaboration is still needed.