Concept: German pharmaceutical and biotechnology company has partnered with American Perdue AgriBusiness (Perdue), an operating company of for regenerative farming. The duo aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions and develop a model for a more sustainable food value chain that includes the entire Perdue grain network.
Nature of Disruption: The partnership is based on Bayer’s ‘ForGround’ platform and leverages the capabilities and size of both organizations to develop a model for companies to evaluate their carbon footprints and quickly scale up their capacity to cut Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Scope 3 GHG emissions include the ones that are not generated by the company directly or as a result of operations from assets they own or control, but rather those for which it has indirect responsibility across its value chain. Both companies aim to provide more opportunities to support farmers as they embark on a path toward regenerative agriculture by benefiting their lands and assisting them in producing more environmentally friendly foods and ingredients for businesses and consumers. Farmers who supply Perdue with grain are paid for tracking their carbon footprint. They can avail all of the ForGround benefits including science-based agronomic support, a free subscription to Climate FieldView Plus, and cost savings like agronomic tools, equipment rebates, and service discounts. Moreover, farmers can qualify for additional incentives linked to ForGround by using regenerative farming techniques, and individualized support to meet each farmer wherever they are on their regenerative agriculture path. The emission reductions attained through the regenerative farming techniques adopted by Perdue grain farmers can thereby improve the sustainability of the value-added foods and ingredients that are used to produce Perdue’s portfolio of products.
Outlook: Agriculture is responsible for nearly a quarter of all global GHG emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Bayer and Perdue have partnered for a more sustainable agricultural future and to address this global issue. The program aims to enroll farmers who provide corn or soybeans to Perdue. The objective is to understand the carbon footprint and then determine the best way to reduce the GHG intensity of the grains produced by implementing regenerative farming techniques. This can increase the sustainability of the ingredients and foods made from those grains. The companies boast that the collaboration can remove nearly 1 million t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from the atmosphere each year and deposit it in the ground. If accomplished, this could offset the GHG emissions from more than 200,000 vehicle emissions.
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