Invested In Climate

Danone & EDF's partnership to transform agriculture, Ep #44

Mar 21, 2023

52:19

While new innovations from climate tech startups are exciting, effectively addressing the climate crisis simply isn’t going to happen without big companies making big changes. To be honest, that’s part of why I recently started a new role at NationSwell where I get to help a growing community of chief sustainability officers and ESG leaders take bold action. But don’t worry this episode isn’t about me.

It’s about Danone, a global dairy company that is taking significant steps to reduce emissions, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit partnering with Danone and other companies to accelerate climate action. Recently, Danone became the first food and agriculture company to set a methane-specific climate target - a 30% reduction from its fresh milk sourcing by 2030 - through their partnership with EDF. We’re speaking with EDF Director Katie Anderson and Danone’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Regenerative Agriculture Policy Chris Adamo about how this collaboration is helping Danone reach its ambitious goal, what other companies are learning from their experience, the role of policy, and what the future holds. This episode offers valuable, frontline insights into the transformation of a large corporation and agriculture as a whole. Enjoy.

In today’s episode, we cover:

[3:53] Katie’s background, EDF & her role
[5:13] Chris’s background, Danone’s sustainability commitment & his role
[9:30] How Danone & EDF’s partnership came to be & what it involves
[11:57] Why do environmental & climate issues matter to Danone & what's at stake
[15:02] The scale that Danone operates at, its aim & biggest barriers in doing more
[17:22] How EDF helps partners like Danone make progress on these issues
[22:00] Collaboration for financing to support the agricultural transition
[25:43] Thoughts on grants being viewed as corporate welfare
[26:58] How methane became a priority & the impact that Danone is hoping to have
[30:55] Why is Danone working on getting other companies to follow
[33:09] The most effective strategies for getting companies engaged & committed
[36:59] Investment areas that Chris thinks investors should look into
[39:57] Thoughts on reducing animal agriculture & the diversity of the field
[43:09] EDF & Danone’s policy priorities
[47:09] What needs to happen in the next decade to transform agriculture