Beyond Carbon and Into the Soil: A New Era for Sustainable Agriculture

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In a world where agriculture is at once a victim and a culprit of climate change, the question of how to reward farmers for rebuilding ecosystems has taken center stage. Now, Soil Capital, a certified B Corp founded in 2013, is raising the bar with the launch of “Beyond Carbon,” a bold evolution of its regenerative agriculture programme that promises to transform how we value land stewardship.

Announced in Paris this April, “Beyond Carbon” moves far past the familiar terrain of carbon credits. For years, Soil Capital had led one of Europe’s largest farmer-led carbon programs, working with over 1,800 farms across the UK, France, and Belgium. By distributing more than €10 million to farmers who improved their greenhouse gas performance, it demonstrated that carbon measurement could be a gateway to incentivizing sustainable practices. But its leaders knew that true agricultural resilience requires a broader view.

“If we want regenerative agriculture to scale, farmers must be rewarded for the full scope of their contributions,” said Chuck de Liedekerke, Co-founder and CEO of Soil Capital. “Beyond Carbon makes this possible.”

At its heart, the upgraded programme introduces the Regen Ag Score: a robust data model built on more than 30 scientifically backed indicators, spanning five critical domains — soil health, biodiversity, water management, climate, and socio-economics. This broader lens does more than track environmental progress; it arms farmers with farm-level insights, enables benchmarking across geographies and crops, and provides companies with verified, audit-grade data for both internal sustainability reporting and regulatory compliance.

This shift could not be more timely. Regulatory frameworks like the EU’s Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) are demanding more holistic evidence of positive environmental impact, not just CO₂ metrics. Similarly, initiatives like the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative’s “Regenerating Together” program are aligning around multi-factor regenerative standards. Beyond Carbon positions Soil Capital to lead in this next chapter, ensuring that regenerative agriculture is measured, valued, and scaled with rigor.

Beyond the technical framework, the philosophy behind Beyond Carbon signals a cultural shift. By tying socio-economic indicators — such as circularity, reduced input dependence, and farmer wellbeing — into environmental performance, the program acknowledges a truth long recognized by those who work the land: healthy farms require healthy farmers.

In doing so, Soil Capital joins a growing movement of companies reimagining how agricultural transitions are incentivized. Eion, for example, has partnered with Perdue AgriBusiness to integrate enhanced rock weathering into its grain supply chain, removing carbon while boosting soil resilience. Meanwhile, the partnership between Watershed and HowGood shows how granular Scope 3 agricultural emissions data can serve companies racing to meet the demands of California’s SB 253 or Europe’s CSRD. These are not isolated initiatives — they are parts of an emerging mosaic of efforts to weave climate resilience directly into the fabric of food production.

What sets Soil Capital apart is its farmer-first approach. Where some programs impose top-down metrics, Beyond Carbon is designed to provide farmers with actionable insights that enhance both profitability and ecological outcomes. It’s a tool for empowerment rather than enforcement.

Nicolas Verschuere, Co-founder and agronomist at Soil Capital, underscores this point: “We’re aligning economic incentives across the value chain so that doing the right thing for the land becomes the smart choice for business.”

The scale of the challenge is daunting. Agriculture must dramatically reduce its footprint while simultaneously becoming more resilient to heatwaves, floods, and shifting weather patterns. Yet programs like Beyond Carbon suggest a way forward — one that rewards not just carbon reduction but the entire symphony of ecosystem services that regenerative agriculture can provide.

In a sector too often caught between short-term profits and long-term survival, Soil Capital’s new approach dares to suggest that it’s possible to have both. If successful, Beyond Carbon could become a blueprint for how food systems worldwide can root themselves in healthier soil, stronger communities, and a more balanced relationship with nature.

The regenerative transition, it seems, is no longer just about what we take from the land — but what we give back.