Collaborating for a More Sustainable Food System – Partnerships and Solutions

Recommendation: Start co-investing in cross-sector pilots across farms, mills, packaging lines, and retailers to unlock measurable gains in sustainability. This includes explicit targets for energy, water, and waste reductions, with a three-year horizon and shared metrics. The initial tests should compare packaging approaches for lines of chips and crackers to determine which designs deliver the best shelf-life with lower material use. The effort creates a line of collaboration that links procurement, R&D, and operations for faster learning.

Focus on these three partner groups: growers and cooperatives, processing facilities, and retailers. The most impactful work comes from cross-functional teams that include a maker mindset–engineers, product developers, and sustainability leads. kellanova and these companies decided to launch an initial co-investing program, starting with three joint trials in markets where chips and crackers dominate sales. The initial agreements cover governance, data-sharing norms, and shared milestones to protect competitive advantages while enabling learning.

Implementation relies on a shared data platform to track energy, water, and waste metrics across pilot sites. Use open standards for data exchange to accelerate learning. The work centers on practical technology applications–down-gauging packaging for chips and crackers, improving technical coatings where needed, and optimizing processing steps. Working groups, led by plant engineers and R&D specialists, meet monthly to adjust targets and share lessons learned.

Key metrics include packaging waste per unit, energy intensity per ton of product, and water use per hour of processing. For the initial phase, aim for a 20% reduction in packaging waste per line by 2027, a 15% energy reduction, and a 10% water-use reduction across participating sites. Establish biannual milestones and publish progress in an annual sustainability report to inform partners and investors. Use the data to refine partnerships and identify new co-investing opportunities.

About the broader market, a scalable approach centers on multi-brand coalitions that share procurement, learning platforms, and supplier standards. The action line for manufacturers includes a shared supplier code, joint product development, and a pipeline for rolling out successful packaging innovations across brands. kellanova and other makers can use the results to align on sustainability targets and co-investing strategies across future product lines.

Collaborating for a More Sustainable Food System

Launch a near-term collaboration across farms, processors, and vendors to deploy a shared model for reducing emissions within cereal value chains, anchored by soil carbon sequestration and nutrient recycling from manure. This approach relies on a common source of data, transparent practices, and field trials that translate ideas into measurable actions for sustainability.

In global markets, an announced framework directs efforts to address environmental and social impacts across the next decade. The plan selects partner pilots aimed at improving soil health and crop yields while reducing fertilizer inputs. These ideas are designed to be practical, scalable, and compatible with diverse farm sizes, and determined to deliver concrete benefits for farmers and the planet.

To accelerate progress, these partnerships align cereal producers with chains of vendors who commit to sustainable sourcing, reduced fertilizer use, and improved manure management. A shared source of truth and a lightweight dashboard lets teams monitor selected indicators, triggers a stop when targets fail, and allows quick adjustments to keep the program moving forward.

Adopt concrete steps: standardize manure handling across selected farms, pilot sequestration-enhanced soils, and use contracts that reward measured reductions in emissions. Build capacity with targeted training, data-sharing agreements, and a governance group that meets quarterly to review progress and reallocate resources within the year. The result is a resilient system that supports these collaborations and keeps cereal chains resilient across markets.

Key metrics include lifecycle emissions per ton of cereal, soil organic matter changes, and water-quality impacts in downstream ecosystems. A dedicated fund supports co-financing of on-farm equipment and vendor upgrades, with milestones tied to announced results. By keeping the focus on these shared goals, partners can scale quickly in this decade and beyond, addressing root causes at the source and driving long-term sustainability for the planet.

Define 2030 GHG targets and interim milestones

Set a clear trajectory: reduce Scope 1+2 emissions by 40% and Scope 3 by 25% by 2030, with near-term milestones and initial targets for 2025, 2027, and 2029.

Since data drives action, establish a baseline now and publish annual progress by geography, focusing on agriculture, oats, and logistics in kansas and other core areas.

Near-term actions to enhance sustainable practices include initial regenerative-practice pilots on oats and other grains that supply crackers, to produce lower-emission ingredients; test soil sequestration in pilot plots; upgrade milling and logistics to renewable energy; and improve nitrogen-use efficiency.

These efforts rely on a strong partnership with kellogg that provides support to farmers and a network of growers, including the zimmerman family operation in kansas, to scale practices across geographic regions.

Support from the company comes through funding, technical training, and data-sharing tools that translate pilots into scalable improvements; monitor impacts on soil carbon, energy use, and fertilizer runoff, and publicly report progress to strengthen sustainability commitments across the supply chain.

By centering collaboration with partners and building local capability, the plan stays focused on practical gains for kansas farmers, oats, and produce, while cutting emissions and improving resilience.

Assign cross-functional governance and accountability

Establish a cross-functional governance council with explicit decision rights across regions and functions, and assign clear accountability for each project cycle. This setup creates resilient chains and speeds reducing the footprint of food systems while maintaining safety and quality.

Define roles: chair, regional leads, a global sponsor, casey from analytics, and project leads from key teams. Rotate the chair every six months to share perspective across carolina, regions, and global teams; ensure every region has a seat so decisions reflect local constraints and opportunities. Each part of the process has an owner.

To take decisive actions, the council uses approximate estimates and a first set of milestones to guide funding. Adopt a two-tier cadence: pilot reviews monthly and full project reviews quarterly.

Use a KPI dashboard to track footprint, reducing emissions, on-time delivery, waste, and supplier resilience. Direct dedicated support to working teams and ensure the data drives decisions. Since these dashboards feed decisions, the governance body can reallocate support to the most impactful projects and guarantee accountability.

Scale through select projects across global regions in staged pilots. Start with 3-5 projects, measured in millions of savings potential, and use the first estimates to plan funding and resources. Establish a clear chain of approvals to avoid bottlenecks, and document lessons learned for each region and partner, including walmart collaborations that illustrate a great model for joint planning and execution. Strengthen partnership models with suppliers and retailers.

Engage suppliers to scale regenerative practices and cut dairy emissions by 40% by end of the decade

Sign a binding regenerative sourcing pact with all dairy and feed suppliers today, anchored in transparency, and require quarterly progress reporting with third-party verification to ensure what changes are coming, what is being implemented, and where efforts are succeeding; provide reading dashboards to teams so results stay clear.

Map the supply base across regions to identify where regenerative cropping can scale fastest. Target thousands of hectares with rotations that include potatoes and wheat, expand cover crops, and adopt nutrient stewardship to reduce fertilizer inputs while maintaining yields.

Offer technical support and financing to reform feeding programs. Work with suppliers to oversee crop sourcing that favors regenerative cropping–these systems include legume rotations and precision nutrient application–and include renewable energy for on-farm operations to lower emissions from transport and processing.

Zimmerman Farms formerly relied on conventional methods; they teamed with us to test adaptive grazing and diverse cropping. Early results show healthier soils, lower input needs, and progress toward the 40% target in years to come, benefiting the planet and local communities. This model scales toward a billion liters of milk across regions.

Improve data quality: baselines, scope 3 metrics, and verification

Set a single baseline year across all suppliers and implement a standardized data collection workflow within 90 days to quantify emissions for key products like wheat, oats, and palm-derived inputs. This baseline will support a decade-long improvement plan and provide transparent reporting to most partners and customers.

1. Establish baselines
   • Define baseline year (e.g., 2023) and scope 3 boundaries across areas from farming to processing, including cropping, inputs, and logistics.
   • Capture data at the most material nodes: farming and draft inputs, milling, packaging, transportation, and use of sold products.
   • Include product families such as wheat-based products, oats, and palm-derived materials to reflect full value chain emissions.
   • Set per-unit metrics (CO2e per metric ton of product) and per-farm benchmarks to enable comparison across regions and time.
2. Define Scope 3 metrics
   • Adopt the GHGP Scope 3 Standard and map categories to the business: Purchased goods and services, Upstream logistics, Upstream emissions from farming, Use of sold products, and End-of-life disposal.
   • Prioritize data for the most impactful areas–farming practices, cropping choices, fertilizer and energy use, and transport–so that actions yield the largest value.
   • For each product line (like wheat, oats, palm-backed inputs), compute emissions intensity (kg CO2e per unit of product) and track improvements year over year.
   • Create a materiality matrix to focus on the areas where collaboration with partners will drive the most climate impact.
3. Verification and data quality
   • Engage an independent verifier to assess data integrity at least annually, with interim checks after major data updates.
   • Implement data quality metrics: completeness (target full coverage of Tier 1 suppliers), accuracy (variance tolerance ±5%), consistency (unit harmonization across regions), and timeliness (quarterly updates).
   • Use automated data feeds where possible to reduce manual inputs and stop recurring gaps; require source documentation for all emissions factors and activity data.
   • Publish a concise verification report linked to the baseline and year, detailing gaps, assumptions, and corrections.
4. Governance and program integration
   • Sustain a strategic program led by a cross-functional team, with clear owners for farming, operations, and sourcing data, including a dedicated “sarah” liaison for coordination and communications.
   • Announced partnerships with key buyers and suppliers, such as walmart, to align data collection methods and verify data through a shared project framework.
   • Define data-sharing rules within the partnership to protect sensitive information while enabling full value reporting to stakeholders.
5. Practical implementation steps
   • Develop a unified data template that includes product type, farming area, cropping practices, inputs used, energy and fertilizer consumption, transport modes, and end-use expectations.
   • Pilot the approach in two to three agricultural areas with diverse cropping, such as wheat-dominant regions and palm-prime zones, then scale to additional areas over the next year.
   • Link the data program to supplier contracts and procurement processes to drive improvements and demonstrate real value for both producers and buyers.
   • Use the data outputs to guide target setting, such as reducing Scope 3 emissions per unit by a defined percentage over the next decade.
6. Communication and continuous improvement
   • Provide regular dashboards and reports to internal teams and external partners to illustrate progress and remaining gaps.
   • Incorporate feedback from farming communities and processors to refine data collection methods and assumptions.
   • Iterate baselines and metrics every year to reflect changes in farming practices, cropping mixes, and logistics improvements.

Coordinate with retailers and partners to expand regenerative agriculture

Address delhaize and other retailers across channels to co-create a farm-to-shelf program that scales regenerative farming across thousands of farms and a product line approach aimed at scaling impact.

Develop a technical plan with farmers and partners to guide trials this summer and beyond; this framework will come with measurable targets, and it should track soil organic matter, energy use, and water efficiency to enhance outcomes.

Alongside Casey and other partners, adopt regenerative practices on oats and other crops, which build resilience across the supply chain, from farming fields to shelf.

Build a transparent data line for the company that records inputs, rotations, cover crops, and energy savings; using this data, formerly separate pilots become a cohesive program that scales across retailers and helps them align practices with an approximate baseline.

Coordinate with retailers to set annual targets and share learning; using feedback loops along the value chain could adjust investments and accelerate adoption, with thousands of farmers participating since the summer launch and aiming for measurable impact for the long-term.