PepsiCo and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) agreed to a seven and a half year strategic commercial agreement to work together on regenerative agriculture initiatives across North America, the two companies jointly announced Sept. 14.
Impacting corn, soy and wheat farmers in Iowa, the new partnership should impact 2 million acres of land in total by 2030, and represents collaboration in furthering carbon reduction goals.
According to a press release, the project’s goal is to eliminate 1.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases at the farm level, as well as implement regenerative agriculture initiatives like cover crops, reduced tillage, nutrient management, diverse rotations and responsible pesticide use.
Participants will gain access to financial assistance, peer farming networks, educational field days and third-party measurement systems.
PepsiCo Chief Sustainability Officer Jim Andrew called the partnership a “sea change” in how the company engages with partners, in a statement.
“Today’s announcement is a major step forward, as we work with a partner whose values align with our own to scale up regenerative agriculture in a way few other companies can,” said ADM Chief Sustainability Officer Alison Taylor in the release.
Both companies have focused on sustainability efforts in recent years. PepsiCo implemented pep+ as they look to spread regenerative practices across 7 million acres by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
ADM follows Strive 35 sustainability goals and intends to reduce greenhouse emissions by 25, energy intensity by 15%, water intensity by 10% and achieve a 90% landfill diversion rate by 2035. They also hope to have a completely deforestation-free supply chain by 2030.
