The company furthers its commitment to farming practices that help mitigate climate change
Danone North America, the purpose-driven food & beverage leader with a diverse portfolio of dairy and plant-based brands, continues to expand its regenerative farming program, currently the most comprehensive regenerative agriculture dairy program in the US. The company unveiled its year three results from its multi-year, multi-million-dollar soil health research program on 22 Dec 2020. Launched in 2017, the soil health initiative brings together experts and academics to build best-in-class soil health programs to benefit farms and communities across the Danone North America portfolio. Now completing its third year, the research program has nearly tripled to more than 82,000 acres, inclusive of 28,000 organic acres, across the US and Canada, and has recently expanded into almond orchards in the central valley of California.
The goal of Danone’s soil health initiative is to improve the organic matter in soils leading to increased carbon sequestration and improved yields, reduce chemical use, restore biodiversity, and enhance soil water holding capacity, leading to improved farm economic resilience over the long-term. In year three of the five-year soil health program, Danone North America evaluated progress with a focus on five key areas of regenerative agriculture: Soil Health, Biodiversity, Water, Carbon and Economy & Productivity. The company partners with Sustainable Environmental Consultants and its EcoPractices platform to conduct an in-depth field-level sustainability analysis and reporting on soil health and related goals leading to continuous improvement on enrolled farms. The year three assessment revealed key performance updates for the following environmental impact areas:
- Protecting and restoring soil
- Fostering biodiversity with species, varieties and wildlife
- Preserving and protecting water systems
- Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions and sequestering carbon
- Ensuring ongoing viability
