From key emission reduction measure to greenwashing strategy

The report finds that while regenerative agriculture is widely adopted in the communications of 24 out of 30 analyzed multinational food and agriculture companies, it lacks a common definition and scientific rigor. The analysis suggests that companies often conflate emission reductions with removals, overstate the potential of soil carbon sequestration, and use 'regenerative grazing' to justify unsustainable livestock production levels. Ultimately, the report argues that current corporate applications of regenerative agriculture lack the ambition to significantly impact climate mitigation and often serve as a layer over business-as-usual practices rather than a systemic redesign of food production.

• Regenerative agriculture has moved beyond a niche term, with 24 of the 30 analyzed multinational food and agriculture companies mentioning it in sustainability communications. Of these, 18 provide a definition, 8 have quantitative targets (termed 'extensive users'), and 8 are piloting projects (termed 'early experimenters').
• There is no consensus on the definition of regenerative agriculture among the companies studied. Furthermore, corporate strategies often omit essential practices such as the reduction of chemical inputs or fertilizer use.
• Companies frequently conflate emission reductions and removals, relying on soil carbon sequestration despite debates over its potential and limited permanence. The lack of reliable measurement and verification systems makes it nearly impossible to validate claims regarding changes in soil carbon content.
• Meat and dairy companies use 'regenerative grazing' to maintain high production levels, misleadingly claiming that soil carbon sequestration neutralizes livestock methane emissions, whereas such practices only sequester small amounts of carbon.
• Current corporate use of regenerative agriculture lacks the ambition to significantly reduce emissions or increase removals, as companies are applying specific practices on top of business-as-usual models rather than redesigning the food production system.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2024). From key emission reduction measure to greenwashing strategy. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/navigating-regenerative-agriculture-in-corporate-climate-strategies

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. From key emission reduction measure to greenwashing strategy. 2024. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/navigating-regenerative-agriculture-in-corporate-climate-strategies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=From key emission reduction measure to greenwashing strategy |date=26 September 2024 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/navigating-regenerative-agriculture-in-corporate-climate-strategies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2024from, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{From key emission reduction measure to greenwashing strategy}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/navigating-regenerative-agriculture-in-corporate-climate-strategies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }