McDonald’s and Barclays have joined forces to launch the Routes to Regen project, "Regeneration Pathways," demonstrating how regenerative agriculture can be more financially viable. The project is born under the banner of the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), the world’s leading private sector organisation for sustainable transition founded by King Charles III: is supported by big names in the food and beverage industry and by investors in the sector, just like McDonald’s and investment bank Barclays, with the aim of promoting the sustainability of the sector.

The project, which will run throughout 2025, will focus on East England: the aim is to address the environmental challenges of the global food system, It is responsible for about 30% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions and remains the main driver of nature’s loss.

Taking a holistic approach to the farm, the programme aims to reduce risk for the farmer, increase adoption rates and make regenerative agriculture a more viable and attractive choice for farmers. A range of aids will be provided and illustrated throughout the project, including:

• financial support: raising awareness of available discounted capital, advice on business planning, opportunities to provide rotational crops, discounted seed for cover crops and pollinators, weather insurance, Advice on how to make the best use of public funding programmes;
• technical support: in-depth research and testing, links with local farmers, assistance in the measurement/collection of data such as soil sampling at discounted prices; 
• peer-to-peer support: opportunities to participate in demonstration days and knowledge sharing events.

"Regenerative agriculture offers us a fundamental opportunity to ensure a long-term sustainable future for agriculture -explains Beth Hart, chief sustainability and social impact officer at McDonalds-. The implementation of regenerative practices requires a real and lasting partnership throughout the supply chain to support and encourage farmers to adopt such practices".

Other big names that have come out in support of the project include Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest, Aon, Tokio Marine Kiln, Lloyd’s and Waitrose & Partners: The hypothesis is that cross-sector collaboration can be used to inspire farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture. Other companies will support farmers involved in the project, including ADM, British Sugar, Burgess Farms and Cranswick.

"Routes to Regenl, -stresses the SMI ceo Jennifer Jordan-Saifi- exemplifies the power of cross-sector collaboration. The organisation is uniquely positioned to facilitate the project and aims to demonstrate a new model of how industries can come together to drive sustainable change on a global scale".

According to the SMI, economic risk and poor support network prevent farmers from switching to regenerative farming methods, although the benefits of such operations have been demonstrated. 

Dana Clouston, responsible for sustainable finance at Business Bank Barclays, said: "Barclays has been supporting UK farmers for over 280 years, working with them through many periods of change, and now it is no different. The Routes to Regen project is an example of system-level action needed across the value chain to support farmers in innovation and adaptation, and we look forward to working with partners through the SMI to help UK farmers take significant steps towards incorporating and scaling up regenerative practices".