Soil
Business Case
Brand reputation
Organizations that invest in soil health across their supply chains gain differentiated positioning and strengthen brand credibility with customers and investors who evaluate sourcing practices.
Financial resilience
Regenerative soil management reduces dependency on synthetic inputs over time, reducing costs and reducing exposure to fertilizer price volatility.
Investor confidence
For investors and lenders that evaluate land use and soil management practices as part of nature-related financial risk assessments, companies with verified regenerative sourcing practices are better positioned to meet disclosure frameworks such as TNFD and attract capital.
Legal and regulatory compliance
Soil carbon sequestration presents measurable climate mitigation opportunities, positioning organizations ahead of tightening regulatory requirements on emissions and land use.
Market access
Regenerative sourcing can open access to premium market segments where certified products command higher prices and margins. It also strengthens positioning with institutional buyers and government procurement bodies that evaluate sustainable sourcing as part of their selection criteria.
Operational continuity
Healthy soil is critical for long-term productivity and reliability of agricultural supply chains; degraded soil leads to declining yields, higher input costs and increasing vulnerability to climate disruption. Soil with higher organic matter retains more water, providing natural drought resilience and reducing crop loss risk from extreme weather.
Productivity and quality
Suppliers practicing regenerative agriculture tend to produce higher-quality and nutrient-dense raw materials, enabling premium product positioning and differentiated sourcing. Erosion prevention protects long-term land productivity and avoids downstream environmental costs (sedimentation, water quality degradation).
Strategy & Planning
Assessment
Review agriculture categories most exposed to soil degradation risks / Map soil degradation risk by best available supplier region using public datasets, internal spend or third party risk assessment partners.
Map supply chains back to farm/origin for top 3 soil-impacting categories and assess current state of agricultural, textile and land-based procured materials for the top 3 soil-impacting categories to identify:
- current soil health condition
- degradation trends
- which are sourced from farms utilizing regenerative growing practices aligned with your organizations "Policy"
- regenerative transition readiness
Conduct comprehensive supply chain soil health audit across all agricultural and land-based categories to identify remaining gaps in regenerative sourcing coverage.
Policy
Define soil health and regenerative sourcing requirements to qualify supplier as regenerative. Create a set of standards for practices such as tillage intensity and synthetic input use. Identify and align with best practice spray and/or IPM or regenerative growing management systems that are specific to the relevant crops and growing regions.
Publish supplier policy highlighting regenerative agriculture as a preferred sourcing pathway with minimum regenerative‑practice adoption thresholds for high‑risk crops and embed into Supplier Codes of Conduct and other supplier-facing sustainability materials.
Implement farm-level traceability requirements for all major agricultural commodities, integrate soil metrics into total cost of ownership and risk registers and require suppliers to align with recognized regenerative standards.
Targets
Select priority categories to pilot regenerative sourcing and set time-bound targets for launching regenerative sourcing.
Set progressive, category-specific targets and soil health KPIs for sourcing from regenerative farms on topics such as:
- soil health testing and nutrient management practices
- tillage practices
- living root practices
- cover crop practices and crop rotation
- animal integration
- fertilizer and pesticide usage
- composting
Set targets for and achieve 100% regenerative sourcing across priority categories, with verified outcomes.
Supplier Selection
Screening
Publish list of prohibited land degradation / soil health disruption violations, excluding those with unresolved major soil health violations, and add basic soil stewardship questions into pre-qualification and RFPs, including:
- soil health testing and nutrient management practices
- tillage practices
- living root practices
- cover crop practices and crop rotation
- animal integration
- synthetic fertilizer and pesticide usage
- composting
- history of soil health violations
In RFP process, request evidence of soil health practices from suppliers, including soil test results, cover crop documentation, tillage records and input management data.
Require third-party verification of regenerative claims as prerequisites to apply for RFP.
Selection
Give preference to suppliers with soil regeneration initiatives.
Weigh supplier scoring on demonstrated soil health practices and outcomes.
Select suppliers with full traceability to farm or field level.
Contracts
Include contractual clauses requiring compliance with prohibited soil degradation practices and basic soil health disclosure.
Include contract clauses requiring adoption of defined regenerative practices, with particular regenerative benchmarks for high-risk suppliers, soil health test results and improvement plans as a condition of contract renewal.
Require regenerative full transition plans with annual soil health improvement targets.
Supplier Engagement
Goal Setting
Co-develop soil health improvement goals with suppliers in priority categories.
Set specific, time-bound soil health improvement targets with suppliers, such as reducing synthetic input use by defined percentages, achieving cover crop adoption rates or improving soil organic matter levels.
Set goals with Tier 1 suppliers on cascading regenerative soil practices to their own suppliers and farm networks, with multi-year targets for verified soil health outcomes.
Capacity Building
Host regenerative agriculture training sessions for suppliers and their farmers.
Implement soil health training programs for suppliers covering advanced regenerative techniques, soil biology and nutrient cycling. Where agricultural supply chains involve smallholders or informal producer organisations, support or recognise intermediary organisations (cooperatives, aggregators, Organisations of Second Level) that can translate regenerative sourcing requirements into farm-level guidance and quality assurance.
Provide advanced training to suppliers on measuring and verifying soil carbon sequestration, implementing regenerative systems at scale and building farmer training capacity within their own supply chains.
Data
Support priority suppliers with collecting data on soil health practices, including current soil test results (soil organic matter, carbon content, erosion rates) , tillage methods, cover crop usage and input volumes.
Support suppliers in developing structured soil health monitoring systems to enable systematic tracking of soil organic matter, carbon levels, biodiversity indicators and input reduction.
Work with suppliers to implement shared data platforms for real-time soil health monitoring, including soil organic carbon trends, biodiversity indicators and practice adoption rates across the supply chain.
Certifications
Provide guidance on recognized regenerative agriculture and soil health certification programs (such as Regenerative Organic Certified).
Sponsor suppliers to participate in recognized soil health or regenerative agriculture certification and verification programs.
Require certification or third-party verification for strategic suppliers in high-impact agricultural categories and support Tier 2 suppliers in achieving certification.
Advisory
Provide guidance to suppliers on regenerative agriculture fundamentals and how to begin transitioning from conventional to regenerative practices.
Provide technical agronomist assistance to implement regenerative changes.
Consult and work with suppliers on embedding regenerative soil requirements into their own procurement practices and supplier engagement programs.
Financial Support
Provide small grants or seed discounts for first year cover crop adoption, soil health testing or other regenerative soil health practices.
Support blended finance vehicles that reduce farmer transition risk (co-invest in soil health monitoring technology and infrastructure) and sponsor access to equipment such as no till drills or cover crop seed, as well as more advanced technology such as remote sensing and satellite imagery for tracking soil health and carbon sequestration; blockchain for transparency, knowledge sharing platforms, AI analytical tools and digital product passports.
Establish pay for performance incentives for soil outcomes, such as premium pricing for demonstrated soil organic carbon gains, erosion reduction or other regenerative practices.
Audits
Require suppliers to complete self-assessment questionnaires on soil management practices, covering tillage, cover cropping, input use, soil testing and composting.
Conduct on-farm supplier due diligence and audits on soil management practices, including topics such as:
- tilling practices
- input use
- cover crops
- living root practices
- animal integration
- integration of biodiversity to support soil health
- composting
- region / context specific best practices
- soil health measurement approach
Require and support strategic suppliers to conduct their own soil health audits across their farm networks and share findings, including soil test results, practice adoption rates and improvement trends.
Project Partnerships & Innovation
Launch a small pilot with a group of farms to test regenerative methods.
Scale regenerative programs across sourcing regions by expanding pilots and collaborating with suppliers on innovative practices and technologies (such as soil monitoring tools, regenerative inputs, digital traceability).
Engage in Coalitions, industry groups or partner with stakeholders in the value chain such as soil health certification bodies (Regenerative Organic Certified, Soil Carbon Initiative) to drive research and investment into the space, improve infrastructure and solve for key challenges in scaling regenerative sourcing.
Continuous Improvement
Metrics
Track the following:
- number of suppliers engaged in soil-related regeneration initiatives, including details on the initiatives (cover crops, soil health testing, tillage, etc.)
- percentage of purchases made from suppliers with certified regenerative practices
- supplier participation in buyer soil health programs
Track progress indicators such as:
- aggregated supplier progress against soil health and carbon sequestration improvement targets, with before and after carbon emissions related to soil practices
- soil practice adoption rates across the supplier base
- percentage of sourcing regions with active regenerative programs
Track indicators such as:
- verified soil organic carbon improvements across the supply chain
- percentage of total agricultural spend sourced from verified regenerative operations
- cost savings from reduced fertilizer and fuel due to less tillage
Scorecards
Develop a supplier scorecard that incorporates soil health indicators, such as:
- adoption of soil health practices (cover cropping, reduced/no-till, crop rotation diversity, managed grazing)
- evidence of soil testing and monitoring
- results of soil testing (soil organic matter trends over time)
- erosion management
- participation in soil health or regenerative certification programs
Require corrective action plans for suppliers with poor soil health performance, with clear milestones and timelines monitored by procurement.
Weigh soil health and regenerative practice performance in supplier scorecards, with top performers receiving preferential weighting in tenders and bottom performers required to submit improvement plans.
Impact Verification
Gather verified data from suppliers on effectiveness of regenerative engagement programs and feasibility of soil health requirements.
Assess outcomes by measuring supplier progress against soil health and carbon sequestration improvement targets set in procurement strategies.
Calculate environmental, social and economic benefits and cost avoidance from adoption of regenerative sources, including:
- environmental results based on recognised soil carbon measurement and verification protocols, such as the Soil Carbon Initiative methodology, Verra VCS VM0042 or equivalent, to quantify and report soil carbon sequestration outcomes
- social co-benefits (smallholder income, employment, community food security), using IFC Impact Management Principles or SROI methodology
- cost savings from reduced fertilizer and fuel due to less tillage
Sources consulted
- https://kisstheground.com/
- https://procurementmag.com/news/whole-foods-market-can-agriculture-give-back-to…
- https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/12/10/usda-launches-ne…
- https://www.howgood.com/blog/five-strategies-for-shaping-regenerative-procureme…
- https://rgn-advisory.com/regenerative-procurement-is-the-new-procurement-2/
- https://eoxs.com/new_blog/regenerative-sourcing-restoring-ecosystems-through-pr…
- https://www.supplychainqueen.com/regenerative-sourcing-five-shifts-transforming…
- https://www.stellamccartney.com/us/en/sustainability/regenerative-sourcing.html…
- https://medium.com/@alishinrichsen/7-ways-a-regenerative-approach-changes-your-…
- https://resources.ecovadis.com/whitepapers/procuring-regenerative-economy
- https://www.regrow.ag/post/securing-your-supply-chains