Soil Capital: Powering a Regenerative Agricultural Revolution in Europe 

Europe’s first certified carbon payment program for farmers could help to accelerate the transition towards regenerative farming across the world.

Soil Capital is on a mission to become the first independent agronomy firm dedicated to transforming farmland at scale. It reflects an urgent need to revitalize soil health and restore the natural fertility of agroecosystems. Over its decade-long journey, its agronomists and farming experts have steered farmers toward more profitable and sustainable agricultural practices.

The turning point for Soil Capital came in 2019 with the launch of Europe’s first certified carbon payment program for farmers, a major step towards incentivizing sustainable farming practices. Unlike the better-known offsetting model, Soil Capital advocates for insetting, where emissions reductions are achieved within the agri-food value chain itself. The initiative explains that this strategy drives greater systemic change by building more future-fit supply chains. At the core of Soil Capital’s approach is its data model, Beyond Carbon, which uses more than 30 indicators to guide farmers on how to manage land in harmony with nature, creating ecosystemic and economic value. It reflects farm performance across five critical areas: soil health, biodiversity, water management, climate, and socioeconomics.

Its farmer-facing application, mySoilCapital, enables farmers to input their data with minimal administrative burden. In return, they gain insights into how to reduce the cost of synthetic inputs, such as fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and fuels, and how to build greater climate resilience.

According to the initiative, the Soil Capital Regenerative program has engaged more than 1,800 farmers over 500,000 ha across France, Belgium, and the UK to date. More than €15 million has been distributed in payments to farmers, a result of support from food system stakeholders, primarily within the agri-food sector. These payments recognize the critical ecosystem services farmers provide and strengthen their role in safeguarding food security.

In a significant milestone, Soil Capital ​became a certified ​B Corp in 2022, further solidifying its commitment to social and environmental performance, transparency​, and accountability​. The company ​is also a founding member​ of the Climate Agriculture Alliance, a coalition ​which is working to build robust, science-based ​frameworks for agricultural carbon finance in Europe.

Learn more about Soil Capital.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos provided by Soil Capital