1. Certification Systems and Supply Chain Commitments

Certification is another method that may help influence consumer choice and thus could encourage the growth of carbon farming. Organic certification has helped create a price premium for organic products—which as noted earlier in Chapter IV often are more climate-friendly—leading to increased investment and innovation in the field.³⁵ As a result, organic food has grown from 1% of the market in 1997 to almost 5% of the market in 2014.³⁶ It is not

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clear whether the organic certification program has driven more sustainable practices in conventional agriculture, although some argue that it has helped spur increased interest in “natural” and other indications of sustainability.

By way of example, several companies and private organizations,³⁷ such as the Rainforest Alliance and Nespresso, already have, or are in the process of developing, certifications for carbon-neutral coffee.³⁸ Environmental groups and other nonprofit organizations have also developed certifications for sustainably produced food. For example, the Carbon Underground has developed a regenerative agriculture standard known as the Soil Carbon Initiative that can be adopted by farmers and that will measure certain outcomes, rather than practices.³⁹ Another nonprofit started the Regenerative Organic Certification that focuses on “the health of the planet, animal welfare, and social fairness.”⁴⁰ Standards and certifications such as these could help boost interest and investment in climate-friendly practices.⁴¹

Similarly, other food processing companies should commit to providing carbon-neutral products, which will require them to work with their supply chain and help producers through subsidies, price premiums, technical assistance, and other means to change practices to achieve this goal. A recent report examining the adoption of sustainable practices found that “[l]arge food companies are looking at everything from warehousing and transportation to actual production practices as a way to reduce emissions and promote carbon drawdown through farming.”⁴² However, “regenerative production and values based supply chains look like an emerging market: highly fragmented,

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lacking consistent data and information, and dependent on personal relationships. Ultimately, this lack of adequate access to appropriate supply chains is inhibiting the growth and development of a robust regenerative food economy.”⁴³ There is thus an opportunity for the private sector to help drive this change and incentivize the adoption of climate-friendly practices in their supply chains.