This text is sponsored by Environmental Protection Fund.
The Inflation Discount Act (IRA) is a significant win for American companies, providing firms billions of {dollars} in tax credit, loans and different incentives to speed up progress towards environmental sustainability. Many consider it’s destined to be transformative — if these incentives are carried out effectively and successfully.
On this sequence of articles, enterprise leaders from prime firms will share how they’re implementing IRA provisions and what recommendation they might give to different firms wanting to capitalize on all of the IRA has to supply.
At this time, we converse with Chris Adamo, vp of public affairs and regenerative agriculture coverage for Danone North America. Previous to becoming a member of Danone, Adamo spent over a decade engaged on points associated to agriculture, atmosphere and local weather change because the chief of employees for the White Home Council on Environmental High quality; employees director of U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Diet and Forestry; and legislative counsel for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
Victoria Mills: Danone North America was a forceful advocate for the IRA. Why is that? In what methods did you weigh in?
Chris Adamo: As an organization with a lot at stake through local weather danger in our provide chain, and one with formidable local weather objectives, Danone North America knew we needed to interact when Congress started debating complete local weather laws in 2021. We continued to advocate for the local weather provisions in that laws till the passage of the IRA in 2022.
Each as a person firm and thru coalitions, such because the Sustainable Meals Coverage Alliance, and with impartial advocacy led by our executives, we weighed in to ensure that unprecedented funding in agriculture was enacted. It unlocks vital potential for U.S. farmers and ensures resiliency inside the meals sector.
We can’t act or obtain significant local weather influence alone, and insurance policies just like the IRA can elevate efforts far past our scope of enterprise to assist rework financial sectors.
Mills: How has the IRA’s passage modified the enterprise context for Danone?
Adamo: In some ways, the investments in agriculture inside the IRA confirmed what Danone had already acknowledged — that agriculture and the local weather can profit from impactful and measurable investments.
We’ve got labored with USDA on a number of fashions of public-private partnerships to extend our scale of on-farm investments throughout our provide chain with farming companions. Starting from farm invoice packages to the current USDA effort round Local weather-Sensible, these partnerships and the advantages they unlock for farms — from improved soil well being practices to methane-reducing manure administration tools — are precisely what the IRA’s funding in agriculture can accomplish at scale.
Mills: Which IRA-funded packages and incentives does Danone anticipate to profit from?
Adamo: Danone North America had already established partnerships that implement funds approved by Congress earlier than the IRA’s passage, however the IRA will considerably speed up our efforts. Farms that provide us and are conscious of our intent to chop GHG emissions throughout our provide chain can search out funding for tasks distinctive to their operation by way of regionally accessible packages corresponding to USDA’s Environmental High quality Incentives Program (EQIP) or Rural Power for America Program (REAP), which our staff of specialists may help farms work by way of if wanted.
Different packages receiving IRA funding corresponding to Conservation Innovation Program or Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP) enable bigger USDA funding for partnerships, corresponding to these with farmers, inside an combination technique. For the reason that USDA introduced a request for proposals for the IRA’s partnership funding RCPP in Might, Danone has additionally been actively discussing further potential investments that will complement our present methods round dairy methane and diversifying flexitarian choices for plant-based merchandise.
