Field Notes: How Major Brands Are Cultivating Regenerative Supply Chains

Announcements of new initiatives and collaborations dedicated to scaling
regenerative agriculture
practices
throughout global supply chains are now sprouting up almost daily. And as the
movement grows, new case studies emerge about how a shift to regenerative
practices creates a ripple effect of benefits — not only for the land and crops
but for the farmers and communities involved in their cultivation.

At our upcoming, third SB Regen Ag Summit (October 17) at SB’24
San
Diego,
another group of forward-thinking food, beverage and apparel brands
will share lessons learned from their efforts to fortify their commodity supply
chains in a climate-changing world — and the significant environmental, economic
and social benefits being reaped by their companies and beyond.

Maker’s Mark

Whisky giant Maker’s Mark first
established itself as a leader in sustainable spirits through efforts including
its distillery-wide zero-landfill initiative, extensive solar installations
across its warehouse footprint, and becoming the world’s largest distillery to
earn its B Corp
certification
in 2022.

Now, the brand has continued its commitment to cultivate “bourbon that betters
the world” through a transition to regenerative grain production: Each of
Maker’s Mark’s corn and wheat farm partners achieved certification from
regenerative ag verification and supply chain solution company
Regenified in fall 2023; and the brand filled its
first Certified Regenified
barrel
of Maker’s Mark whisky in November 2023, becoming the first spirits distillate
to achieve this certification.

Keurig Dr Pepper

As any corporation with an ever-changing and complex supply chain can attest, a
one-size-fits-all approach is not sufficient for effectively advancing
sustainability efforts.

As food and beverage giant Keurig Dr Pepper
(KDP) has scaled its regenerative agriculture
strategy, it has developed holistic,
localized approaches across a variety of ingredient supply chains that account
for differences in cropping systems, geography and climate. KDP and its
Mott’s brand, for example, partnered with the
Danforth Lab at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences and the IPM Institute of North America to launch the Apple
Pollinator Program — designed to
help Mott’s New York apple farmers adopt conservation techniques and safe
pest-management practices to support the survival of native bees and protect
biodiversity through approaches tailored to each farm. KDP says the project has
illustrated the benefits of tailoring regenerative approaches to local contexts,
the importance of implementation partners and a farmer-first approach, and how
to apply standardized measurement to illustrate impact.

BlackCotton

High school math teacher and fifth-generation farmer Julius
Tillery
founded BlackCotton to advocate for, uplift
and honor the legacy of Black cotton farmers — reframing cotton from a symbol of
oppression to a celebration of economic progress and cultural heritage.

Through collaborations with leading brands such as
Vans
to create clothing with cotton from Tillery’s Northampton County, North
Carolina farm, BlackCotton is driving awareness around Black agriculture and
entrepreneurship. This increased visibility supports the proliferation of
sustainable farming practices through education and mentorship in the Black Belt
farming community and proudly spreads Tillery’s message that “Cotton Is Our
Culture.”

Mars

Rice is a staple in the daily diets of more than 3.5 billion people around
the world; but unfortunately, it’s also one of the world’s most water-intensive
crops: Traditional methods for growing rice consume roughly 40 percent of the
world’s irrigation water. Mars, producer of Ben’s
Original — one of the world’s most popular
rice brands — is seizing an opportunity for transformational change and
achieving ambitious water use reductions while improving rice crop yields.
Through farmer-facing solutions and partnerships with organizations including
Delta Harvest and the
Sustainable Rice Platform, hear how Mars is
updating conventional rice farming with climate- and water-friendly practices,
and ensuring a sustainable future for underserved US farming communities and
this globally critical crop.

PepsiCo & Walmart

In 2023, PepsiCo and
Walmart launched a multi-year collaboration
and
investment
to support farmers across several common supply chains — for crops including
corn,
oats, potatoes, rice, soybeans and wheat — in their transition to
regenerative agriculture practices, with a goal to improve soil health and water
quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on more than 2 million acres of
farmland across the US and Canada. One year into establishing and
scaling an array of financial, agronomic and social programs, leaders from both
companies are ready to report back on progress on key goals, next steps, and how
the model can be replicated across other supply chains — so that more brands can
join the movement to scale availability of regeneratively sourced products while
elevating farmer livelihoods and protecting ecosystem health for the long term.

Hear more from all of these brands and more about their shift to regenerative
practices — including the planning and implementation process, obstacles
overcome, the importance of localized approaches; and the significant
environmental, economic and social benefits — at the SB Regen Ag
Summit: Thursday, October 17, at SB’24 San
Diego.