How Unilever is implementing regenerative agriculture practices across 1 million hectares

Farming is fundamental to our business, providing many of the raw materials we use in our products.

Globally, 38% of land is used in some way by agriculture,^[a] creating a significant impact on the environment. Food systems account for a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, with agriculture and land use responsible for two-thirds of these.^[b] According to the FAO,^[c] thirsty crops are impacting water-scarce regions, with agriculture accounting for 72% of all surface and groundwater.^[d]

It’s clear the way we farm needs to change, both for the sake of our planet and the resilience of our business. We are committed to making a greater impact in promoting nature and regenerative agriculture, and our updated sustainability goals (PDF 131.35 KB) reflect this. We have set a target of implementing regenerative agricultural practices over 1 million hectares of land by 2030, and regenerative agriculture is one of the ten action areas in our updated Climate Transition Action Plan (PDF 7.98 MB).

This way of farming can reduce emissions at the farm level and help sequester (remove) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in the ground as soil organic carbon. This also increases the climate resilience of our agricultural systems. Working with partners and suppliers, we now have 25 regenerative agriculture projects in progress, with contracts covering 350,000 hectares (as of August 2024).

Increasing the impact of our regenerative agriculture commitments

Since we published our Regenerative Agriculture Principles in 2021, we’ve been collaborating with farmers and suppliers to implement a range of practices, including using cover crops and crop rotation, reducing tillage and substituting synthetic fertilisers with natural alternatives.

Many of our projects have offered useful insights and delivered promising results. We’ve helped to reduce nitrate pollution from fertilisers and improved soil quality in soy farms in Iowa. We’ve also worked with tomato farmers in Spain to protect vital water resources and to reduce their greenhouse gases by a third per kilogram of tomatoes grown. These outcomes give us hope that, together, we can shift the way food is grown for good.

We’re establishing shared goals to build greater impact

It’s critical for each of us to recognise our role within the system and understand the urgent need for transformation. We know that partnerships with farmers and suppliers are key to changing our agricultural practices and we’re collaborating across our supply chain to deliver at scale and speed.

“Our partnership with Unilever demonstrates the benefits of long-term projects shifting from sustainable sourcing to regenerative agriculture – improving soil health while reducing emissions,” says Manuel Vázquez Calleja, CEO, Group Conesa, at our Spanish tomato supplier Agraz. “Our farmers are pleased with the promising early results.”

We work with implementation partners to set up projects, creating individualised plans with our suppliers and farmers to enable the transition. The projects then provide a range of tools including equipment and education.

We have established a network of regional partners with technical agronomical expertise across Latin America, Europe and the US, bolstering the capabilities of farmers within these regions and helping to make regenerative agricultural practices the norm among farmer groups.

Stronger advocacy will help sow the seeds of success

Encouraging broader systemic change across the agricultural sector will require stronger supporting policies on a national and international level. That’s why we work with key players across the industry to ensure effective policy advocacy.

We are actively advocating for companies and governments to include food agriculture in their climate action plans at an international and national level. Partnerships are key to shifting government regulations and policies to mitigate risks for farmers and provide financial incentives to transition to and maintain these practices.

Together we’re working to build agricultural resilience and helping to ensure a more stable and efficient food supply chain.

To read more about our updated commitments on climate, nature, plastics and livelihoods, visit our Sustainability Hub.

*This article was updated on 17 October, 2024 to reflect updated project data.