ST. LOUIS– Bayer announced today an expanded approach to its programs that sequester carbon and reduce emissions for companies along the food value chain through regenerative agriculture practices. In addition to helping to reduce these companies’ Scope 3 emissions, “Project Enhanced S3” will include data on benefits from regenerative agriculture practices, such as soil health, more efficient water usage, enhanced biodiversity, and economic support for farmers. Project Enhanced S3 is currently in development, with the goal of helping companies quantify, measure and report the added value of carbon projects taking place on farms in their supply chain, along with a portal to enable them to more easily access insights.
With this enhanced focus on co-benefits, Bayer Ecosystem Services, the business unit that is focused solely on developing sustainability solutions for companies with science-based targets, is creating additional opportunities for customers to obtain value from the myriad data required of carbon programs. Historically, the thousands of data points collected from individual farmers enrolled in the Bayer Carbon Program have been used primarily to understand how field-level practice interventions, such as switching to no-till, strip-till, cover crops, or reduced nitrogen, can sequester and reduce carbon. However, much of that same data may also be contributed by farmers for the purpose of generating reports related to the co-benefits associated with those same activities. The project’s goal is to make use of that data without putting additional administrative burden on farmers.
“By leveraging digital farming tools and deep agronomic expertise, Bayer’s Project Enhanced S3 is uniquely positioned to support the food and beverage industry in driving more impact,” said Leonardo Bastos, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Services at Bayer Crop Science.
“This is yet another way we’re able to measure and quantify the comprehensive benefits for farmers working to reduce global carbon emissions and bringing it to scale with our global reach, local presence, and strong relationships.”
Project Enhanced S3 will focus on giving businesses one more advantage as they build a sustainability strategy. Bayer’s system of solutions is developed using agronomic expertise, scientific innovations, and digital farming technology, including the ForGround by Bayer and Climate FieldViewTM platforms. These tools will help enable sustainability leaders to thoroughly vet potential solutions, demonstrate progress, and report on the results of their climate investments.
Participation in Bayer’s Project Enhanced S3 is now available for a limited number of select business customers and sustainability leaders.
“By participating, businesses can not only support their own climate goals, but also help drive sustainability solutions across the food supply chain through regenerative agriculture,” said Bastos.
