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COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Carlsberg Group advances its global commitment to regenerative agriculture. The brewing giant is forging ahead with three pioneering brands in the UK, Finland and France, on its path to 100% regenerative farming practices by 2040.
The brand commitments form part of the Group’s new ZERO Agricultural Footprint ambition within its recently launched ESG programme, Together towards Zero and Beyond. Within this program, the Danish brewer has committed to sourcing 30% of all agricultural raw materials from regenerative practices and sustainable sources worldwide by 2030, reaching 100% by 2040. With the aim of promoting biodiversity, restoring soil health and supporting natural carbon sequestration, regenerative agriculture is an important part of the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.
Through some of its most challenging targets to date, the Carlsberg Group hopes that working on and delivering on this new ambition will help accelerate the brewing industry’s transition to a regenerative model. And while rethinking the farm-to-bottle process is a difficult path, requiring multi-stakeholder alignment and value chain reconfiguration, early examples emerging in the UK, Finland and France are encouraging:
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, Senior Director of Sustainability and ESG at the Carlsberg Group, said: “We cannot achieve our goals alone. Partnerships are vital throughout the value chain, which is why we are collaborating closely with farmers, traders, maltsters, agronomists and Local NGOs bringing their expertise in transitioning to regeneratively grown barley. Over time, this will allow us to offer our consumers and customers lower carbon beers and contribute to improving the ecosystems we depend on. We will cooperate with all parties stakeholders to ensure that we as a company, and our industry as a whole, strive to achieve a ZERO Agricultural Footprint.”
New regenerative commitments in the United Kingdom
Kicking off the transition to 100% regenerative barley in the UK, CMBC and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) have contracted the first 23 farmers to grow around 7,000 tonnes of regenerative barley through 2023. In collaboration with agricultural consultancy Ceres Rural, a regenerative agriculture protocol has been developed that aligns with Group practices, while taking into account the specific requirements and contexts of UK farmers.
Jonathan Lane, UK Managing Director of ADM, said: “ADM is delighted to support this exciting project as further evidence of how we work with farmers, here in the UK and around the world, to scale up regenerative agriculture. as part of our collective effort to reduce carbon and make our food system more sustainable.At ADM, we have years of experience supporting farmers in their transition to regenerative agriculture and understand the importance of creating value for stakeholders through the value chains in which we operate.”
Alice Andrew, Associate Partner at Ceres Rural, supports CMBC’s initiative: “Farming systems vary enormously around the world due to climate, soil type, crops, scale and technology, so adapt the approach to different markets is essential for success Government and industry support for farmers will help scale up these practices, from expert advice and facilitating peer learning to collecting local data that more farmers can trust to adapt the new practices.”
Stakeholder collaboration in Finland
Changing the mindset of farmers so that they consider long-term soil health before crop yields is one of the initial challenges of the transition to regenerative agriculture. This, coupled with the current lack of universal standards for regenerative agriculture, means that stakeholders who help ease the transition are invaluable. Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) works as an intermediary between regenerative farmers, scientists and the wider value chain through its Carbon Action platform, which has resulted in Finland’s oldest and most popular Christmas beer being brewed with malted barley from two regenerative farms in 2022.
Sirkku Puumala, a Finnish farmer who supplies regenerative barley for KOFF Christmas Beer, said: “Our farm is one of 100 that are part of Carbon Action in Finland. On the Carbon Action platform, farmers and researchers share their experiences and knowledge about agriculture. It is also important to us that those who buy our raw materials share our values and that all actors in the chain participate in the environmental work we do together.”
The first traceable Responsible Barley supply chain in France
In France, the Group’s Kronenbourg 1664 brand has partnered with InVivo Group’s Malteries Soufflet and Soufflet Agriculture to create the country’s first traceable ‘Responsible Barley’ supply chain. The goal is that by 2026, Kronenbourg 1664 Blonde will be made with 100% barley malt from this new agricultural value chain, with 250 associated farmers producing 5,000 hectares of responsibly sourced and traceable barley using blockchain technology.
For this “responsible barley”, a set of agricultural and environmental practices have been aligned with stakeholders across the entire value chain, and specifications have been applied to maintain high levels of quality. These practices contribute to sustainably manage agroecological zones and promote biodiversity; reduce the carbon footprint through soil analysis and optimized fertilization, as well as additional carbon capture and biomass production; ensure optimum barley quality; ensure fair remuneration for farmers and associated outlets; and ensure transparency about French provenance.
Guillaume Couture, CEO of Malteries Soufflet, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Kronenbourg SAS on this value chain approach, which promotes good agroecological practices. As a committed malting partner, Malteries Soufflet has always cared deeply about the challenges of all stakeholders, from farmers to consumers, which is why we support farmers’ production while developing sustainable practices, in order to continually improve our response to customer expectations.”
Together towards a regenerative agriculture
The Carlsberg Group is actively engaged in global collaboration through its new membership of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), created to actively promote and support the global development of sustainable agriculture. Together with experts and other industry players, the Group will learn and share best practices, co-develop and apply specialized programs, and align on a common approach to regenerative agriculture through its participation in a dedicated working group. Achieving the Carlsberg Group’s goals of leaving a ZERO footprint in agriculture will only be possible by working together with multiple stakeholders on a new path that redesigns the value chain to improve ecosystem health and resilience. of the business in the long term.
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