When regenerative agriculture becomes a measurable asset for business performance and communication
According to the European Environment Agency, intensive agriculture leads to significant biodiversity loss (monocultures, removal of hedgerows, specialization), severe soil erosion that exceeds the natural rate of replenishment, high greenhouse gas emissions, and diffuse water pollution due to excessive fertilizer use.
However, soils provide essential ecosystem services (see Figure 1). Regenerative agriculture is a concept that aims to enable the soil to provide these services while ensuring agricultural functions.
What is regenerative agriculture ?
Unlike organic farming, there is no international legal standard defining regenerative agriculture. Various organizations have proposed definitions. Below is a non-exhaustive list:
- FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: holistic farming systems that, among other benefits, improve water and air quality, enhance ecosystem biodiversity, produce nutrient-dense food, and store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
- UN (UNDP): way of farming that nurtures and restores soil health, and therefore reduces water use, prevents land degradation, and promotes biodiversity.
- WWF: holistic, principles-based approach to farming and ranching that delivers positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes. It is an outcome-focused systems approach, not a “one-size-fits-all” checklist of practices.
- Rodale Institute (pioneers of the term): one [agriculture] that, at increasing levels of productivity, increases our land and soil biological production base.
Although there are differences between each proposed definition, most international stakeholders in regenerative agriculture seem to agree on those points:
- Goal: To restore and improve the health of soils, ecosystems, and natural cycles, while producing high-quality food and combating climate change.
- Basic principles:
- Soil health: Increase organic matter, microbial biodiversity, and soil structure.
- Carbon sequestration: Capture and store CO₂ in soils and biomass.
- Biodiversity: Promote crop, species, and habitat diversity.
- Resilience: Adapt agricultural systems to climate change and environmental hazards.
- Holistic approach: Integrate ecological, social, and economic dimensions.
We propose using the definition provided by FAO
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DEFINITION: Regenerative agriculture describes holistic farming systems that, among other benefits, improve water and air quality, enhance ecosystem biodiversity, produce nutrient-dense food, and store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change. |
PBF+ method
Introduction
The PBF+ method was developed by Sayari, in collaboration with INRAE and ITAB, based on the PBF (Asselin et al., 2020), BVI (Lindner et al., 2019), and BioSyScan methods. It allows for more refined information on land use and considers a continuum of agricultural practices in LCA (Life Cycle Assessment).
It is particularly relevant for assessing the benefits associated with regenerative agriculture. Like PBF, it also takes geographical factors into account.
In the following paragraphs, we present the method and the results of a fictitious case study.
The approach
The practices considered by the PBF+ method are presented in Table 1:
The method consists of specifying how these categories are applied to crops of interest: low/high tillage, absence of hedges, half of the soil covered, etc.
We then determine a biodiversity score for each practice used in the production system. The biodiversity score of the production system (Figure 2, step 1) is then calculated as a weighting of the biodiversity scores of the practices present on the farm site according to the areas they cover.
If the raw material of interest is imported from several locations, its biodiversity score (Figure 2, step 2) is determined as a weighted average of the scores of the production systems based on the area covered by these farms.
Finally, the biodiversity impact of a product composed of several raw materials (Figure 2, step 3) considers the scores of all the ingredients that compose it, weighted according to their presence in the product.
Our approach is summarized in Figure 2 using the example of wheat in cookies:
Case study
To understand how it works and its usefulness, let’s apply it to a fictional situation:
- A company that manufactures cookies sources its wheat from farm A (60%) and farm B (40%).
- These two farms adopt distinct regenerative agriculture practices, summarized in Table 2.
Results
Depending on the practices implemented, the biodiversity score may vary but remains lower than that of conventional agriculture. As shown in Figure 3, taking geography (ecosystem fragility) into account can alter this difference.
Furthermore, biodiversity is a matter of time! It is therefore interesting to determine trajectories and estimate the benefits of practices adopted over time for biodiversity (Figure 4). For example, four years of regenerative practices on soils and landscapes enable Farm A to achieve a 22% benefit for biodiversity.
What use at company level?
This method enables companies to integrate biodiversity criteria into their agricultural procurement and sourcing strategies by using robust indicators to assess and compare their impacts. Companies can then confidently guide their eco-design efforts to move toward products that are more respectful of living organisms.
Conclusion
We process field data to assess a biodiversity score on three scales:
- Production system
- Agricultural commodity
- Product
We then compare these scores with those of conventional agriculture to assess the positive impact of the new practices. This rating system allows for continuous assessment of progress on the regenerative agriculture spectrum, with the possibility of taking these improvements into account in company reporting.
Sayari works closely with experts to help companies and organizations continuously enhance their efforts to implement regenerative practices. With the PBF+ method, we can integrate agricultural practices into impact quantification and determine their benefits relative to a baseline scenario.
To learn more
Watch our webinar with Nestlé presenting the PBF+ method (In French)!
Access the webinar document
Contact us for a biodiversity study
Bibliographic references
Product Biodiversity Footprint – A novel approach to compare the impact of products on biodiversity combining Life Cycle Assessment and Ecology, Asselin et al. (2020)
Valuing Biodiversity in Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Lindner et al. (2019)
A new predictive indicator to assess contribution of French food labels to biodiversity, Dallaporta, B.; Asselin, AC; Wermeille, A.; Sautereau, N.; Bockstaller, C. (2022)
Member of the European PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) Technical Advisory Board.
Member of the French ADEME environmental labelling working group.
