The business world can often become enamored with buzzwords that end up as
little more than corporate jargon and filler text. But one of the latest terms
beginning to make its way through our offices and ears,
“regeneration,” is
far more than just buzz. It describes a philosophy, an approach, a way to “bring
back to a place of health” corporate cultures and ways of doing business that
have contributed to the dual climate and biodiversity crises confronting us.
As a food company, Danone has energetically embraced
the food revolution we unveiled in 2017, with strategy based on regenerative
agriculture
— a set of practices centered around keeping organic material in the soil
through less tilling; fewer synthetic inputs; and the use of cover crops and
animal grazing as a way to restore soil health, with healthy soils acting as a
carbon sink for atmospheric CO2. For Danone, helping farmers transition to these
regenerative practices is the biggest area in which we can have positive
environmental and social impact. I recently spoke with Juan José
Freijo,
Global Head of Sustainability at Brambles, about
how regeneration can structure the decade of action and how we as companies
should team up to mainstream it — you can listen to our conversation
here.
Both of us agreed that regeneration is not limited to agriculture alone. At a
broader level — one that can engage all businesses, regardless of their area of
operation — regeneration is about identifying one’s footprint and then moving
away from linear systems towards circular
ones.
It’s about managing natural assets in a way that allows and enables them to
restore themselves sustainably. We all must become stewards of these natural
assets that we will bequeath to future generations.
OK, Now What?: Navigating Corporate Sustainability After the US Presidential Election
Join us for a free webinar on Monday, December 9, at 1pm ET as Andrew Winston and leaders from the American Sustainable Business Council, Democracy Forward, ECOS and Guardian US share insights into how the shifting political and cultural environment may redefine the responsibilities and opportunities for companies committed to sustainability.
In order to keep “regeneration” from becoming merely the latest buzzword, we
have to take and accelerate concrete action. The foundation of action is deep
understanding — in this case, a business’s understanding of its value chain. One
way to build this kind of understanding is to undertake a rigorous lifecycle
assessment in order to identify how different components of a supply chain
interact with each other, and identify what points of intervention might have
the most impact — like looking at yourself in the mirror, without a filter.
Then, pilot projects can be launched, lessons can be learned, and effective
action can be scaled across a business’s brands and geographies.
For example, in Mexico, Danone is working with more than 500 smallholder
dairy farmers to help them implement regenerative-ag techniques — from better
water management to
biodigesters
to produce natural fertilizer — on their farms, in order to reduce emissions
while also increasing productivity. Danone has launched similar pilot projects
with farmers in places such as Algeria, Romania and France.
Brands can build on successful pilot projects by implementing their approaches
into their very DNA. In the US, Danone’s Horizon Milk brand will be carbon
positive (drawing down more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits) by 2025. And
Danone France has an ambitious goal of sourcing 100 percent of its
ingredients produced in France from regenerative agriculture, also by 2025.
I'm glad to see Brambles joining the regenerative movement and to hear about
their own journey to eliminate
deforestation
and protect
biodiversity.
In the end, we are talking about systemic change; and we'll all need to join
forces — suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, consumers — if we're going to make
a real difference.
Finally, it’s also necessary to measure impact by analyzing and studying
activities in order to continue to learn, refine and improve what we’re doing.
Impact related to one planetary boundary will inevitably affect the status of
other planetary
boundaries.
Nature and the host of ecosystem services that we depend are rarely seen as
actual, tangible “assets” with a valuation. This must change. We have to start
considering both the costs that unsustainable environmental impact imposes on
our societies, our health and our economies; and the benefits that healthy
ecosystems provide — including remunerating actors, such as farmers and
indigenous
communities,
for maintaining valuable ecosystem services — such as watersheds that provide
clean water to surrounding communities, and forests and soils that draw down and
store atmospheric CO2.
Becoming truly regenerative at a business’s core might mean changing the shape
of its portfolio — but this is not something to fear! Consumers want products
and services that reflect their values and demands for greater sustainability,
positive environmental impact, and both social and individual wellbeing. A
portfolio that reflects this will be successful in the long run.
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Chief Sustainability Officer
Danone
Eric Soubeiran is CSO, VP of Nature & Water Cycle, and Managing Director of the Danone Ecosystem Fund at Danone.
Published Jun 17, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST