regenagri certification offers credibility for regenerative agriculture claims

As the regenerative agriculture movement rapidly gains global momentum, more farming enterprises and businesses throughout the supply chain are striving to work in ways that are sympathetic to the land and beneficial for the environment, while also maintaining profits.

This is a hugely positive trajectory towards reversing climate change and boosting worldwide economies, but with this surge of interest comes an increasing number of regenerative claims, calling into question their credibility.

To avoid the risk of greenwashing and ensure ambitious climate and environmental targets are achievable and met, it’s important to add more scrutiny measures to these claims, to ensure they’re valid and sustainable.

Scaling up land regeneration requires consistency in processes, context based approaches and data integrity.

Complete solution for the supply chain

The regenagri scheme, which includes a range of standards, digital platforms and support, provides a thorough assessment process to enable regeneration at scale, while also ensuring the validity of regenerative claims through third-party verification, and unlocking a host of benefits for farmers.

regenagri provides a complete solution for farm enterprises at ground level and organisations across the value chain in sourcing farmed produce, providing integrity and assurance from farm to the final product. 

The regenagri scheme covers both food and fibrous products.

Assessment criteria

Going far beyond traditional pass or fail principles, the innovative regenagri assessment process comprises a two-pronged approach. It’s based on extensive standard criteria — from water quality to nutrient management — and methodologies that consider the context and capabilities of each business seeking a regenerative certification. 

For example, a regenerative achievement of company A may not be directly comparable to that of company B. Similarly, two companies may claim to have regenerative impact but each may be at a completely different scale.

Every standard criteria is weighted against the farms’ context, which allows structure and consistency to measure continuous improvement. This approach also supports scalability and flexibility to evolve. 

However, there isn’t a precise formula for transitioning to regenerative agriculture. Your regenerative journey depends on where you’re starting from and under which context you operate.

Third-party certifications

Third-party certification from a certification body provides assurance that assessment data and information are verified through a rigorous process.  

As regenerative claims infer certified backing, it’s important that the certification body holds the required external accreditation. Third-party accredited control bodies provide a high level of assurance, as well as objectivity and impartiality.

regenagri certification is carried out by third-party certification bodies, who are required to hold accreditations to standards ISO17065 and ISO14064/65. 

Hands-on experience

Assessing regenerative farming enterprises can be challenging because each farming system is typically mixed and unique in its approach and the techniques it uses. Therefore, self-assessments, remote auditing and less intensive monitoring processes can often fail to generate a full accurate picture of the farm.

Hands-on experience not only allows an auditor to feel embedded in a farm’s ways of working but having aligned auditors on the ground across the world also ensures a consistent assurance process in different regions and countries.

regenagri offers added value in its approach by providing verification from accredited certification bodies, while also engaging fully trained auditors to assess farm enterprises in-person, dealing with farmers directly and seeing their regenerative transitions first-hand.

Continuous improvement

regenagri certification means continuous improvement is required and forms part of the standard. To remain certified, every farm enterprise or farming organisation must continue to evidence what and how much they’ve improved. 

This continuous improvement on-farm can be achieved through the adoption of regenerative practices, and outcomes are quantified through periodical assessments. 

At the start of a farm’s journey with regenagri, an improvement plan is created to set the pace for a medium to long-term strategy to transition to increasingly more advanced regenerative methods, which, over time, are assessed as part of the certification scheme.

regenagri certification process

The full regenagri certification process, leading to businesses becoming regenagri certified, can be summarised in seven steps.

1) Application review and licensing

Firstly, a review of a farm business or organisation’s application takes place, following a due diligence process to ensure it’s genuine and meets the prerequisite criteria. In parallel with the certification contract, regenagri licensing also commences. 

2) Baseline audit preparation

In preparation for the baseline audit, information is provided to the business about the regenagri program, including a full brief on the standards, requirements and auditing process — this is completed by the accredited certification body.

3) On-farm audit

A thorough, comprehensive audit then takes place on-site at the farm. The auditor will go through the full assessment in-person, where all the required data and supporting records will be collected and verified.

4) Post-audit review

After the on-site visit, the audit is completed to include any outstanding necessary information. The full assessment is then passed to the certifier who checks for completeness along with the quality and validity of the data. 

5) regenagri certification

When the certification is complete, the assessment data is processed through the regenagri platform and the full regenagri report and certificate is generated.

6) Annual monitoring

At least on an annual basis, all the certified organisations must undergo a monitoring audit covering the full scope of the regenagri standards. The monitoring audits measure the improvements achieved so far, across multiple indicators, from water management to soil organic carbon and GHG emissions.

7) Periodical reviews

regenagri runs periodical reviews and data analysis to provide an additional layer of assurance as well as to assess the impact the scheme is delivering to farms and other stakeholders.

Assurance of supply chain claims

Through its chain of custody standards, regenagri provides a scheme to assure the traceability and integrity of the regeneratively produced content in products through the entire supply chain, from farms to finished products. In order to make regenagri claims, all shipments of certified products must be verified as regenagri certified.

 The certification to the regenagri chains of custody standards provides supply chain organisations with assurance on the validity of the claims and on the validity of data.

The regenagri supply chain standards cover content and traceability requirements, as well as product specific protocols (like in the case of coffee).

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Learn more about regenagri

Find out more about the regenagri scheme and apply for regenagri certification here.

Listen to the regenagri podcast to keep up-to-date with the hot topics in regenerative agriculture. 

In the episode ‘Direct from source – a more traceable and transparent cotton supply chain’, Fabiana Furlan and Alberto Candiani, each from respective regenagri certified companies Scheffer and Candiani Denim, discuss the credibility of regenerative claims in the textile supply chain — listen here to learn more.