What we grow, where and how we grow it, and what we eat. Plus how we can protect and enhance our natural environment including biodiversity.
Investors need to care about the state of our soil. It's not a problem taking place 'over there'. It impacts us directly, via the food we grow on the soils in our home region, and indirectly, through the food we import. Impacting the supply chains of all companies in the food industry.
Europe relies on the world for it's imported low value agricultural raw materials. Which means that our way of life is supported by soil health, not just within our own region, but globally.
Yes, fertiliser is really important, its a big part of the 'green revolution' that enables us to feed the world. Fertiliser runoff pollutes our waterways and excess fertiliser can pollute and deplete our soils. And, for farmers, if they use too much, its wasted. An expense they didn't need to make.
There are ways of growing more with less, and precision agriculture is an important contributor to this. We need to focus more on these “easy” wins, but we also need to do so in a way that respects the financial reality faced by many farmers.
Innovation in livestock feeding can minimise their impact on the environment, improve their health, and help with logistics.
Not producing gas means we can't produce fertilisers, which in turn means we can't produce enough food to feed half the World. But is that true?
In a world of climate & biodiversity "sticks and carrots", the law is a clear stick. But, we argue that the law is not just about action by governments and regulators. Climate and biodiversity litigation by private citizens and pressure groups is on the rise.
The increasing focus on supply chains for the critical minerals used in green technologies has also brought the topic of artisanal mining to the fore. It remains a controversial and not well understood topic.
There are multiple reasons why mainstream investors and companies should be paying more attention to biodiversity loss. One reason (among many) is it actually makes good business sense.
The food industry has the potential to make a massive difference in terms of slowing and even reversing biodiversity loss.
Agriculture consumes almost three-quarters of freshwater withdrawal globally. But what parts of agriculture?
Recent analysis suggests that high food prices will continue for some time, and that the impact will be more severe than we initially thought. We need to think differently about how and when we use fertiliser, and how this fits into our wider system of agricultural practices.