From Ideas to Action: the Road to Regenerative Supply Chains

Kristen Tam

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” This familiar saying applies more than ever to spearhead a shift in the food and farming industry to regenerative agriculture. 

At Trellis Impact Conference from October 28-30, 2025 in San Jose, California, leaders from across businesses, NGOs, government agencies, and finance convened to discuss solutions to three sustainable market challenges: 

  1. Decarbonizing supply chains and net-zero transitions (VERGE),
  2. Implementing biodiversity and nature-based solutions (Bloom), and
  3. Mobilizing capital for clean economy transitions (GreenFin). 

Trellis combines these three conferences — VERGE, Bloom, and GreenFin — under one roof, allowing attendees to network across sectors and explore the intersections between energy, food, nature, and finance. The week brought together over 150 sessions, 500+ speakers, and an expo with 40+ organizations all focused on driving the clean economy forward. 

Collaboration for biodiversity and Regeneration 

In the Bloom sessions, one central question guided discussion: how do we increase biodiversity on-the-ground in farms and throughout supply chains? 

“Going together” through setting industry standards on regenerative agriculture practices could be one solution. Instead of companies carrying out individual company-level programs, businesses could collaborate within their industry/sectors to set sustainability standards. This collective approach would enable companies to train and support farmers, plantations, mills, and processors to help them to transition to more “regenerative” and biodiverse farming practices. 

Cotton as a Model for Industry Collaboration 

“There are 35 companies doing regen cotton!” said Alyse Russel, Senior Manager, Global Sustainability Programs at VF Corporation. 

The cotton industry offers a strong example of regenerative farming implemented at scale. Through programs such as the Soil Health Institute’s Regenerative Cotton Fund, which supports long-term sustainable cotton production, they set industry standards for cotton to be grown regeneratively. Similarly, the Integrity Grown cotton program sets regenerative standards and requires annual assessments to verify compliance. These collaborations show how industry-wide action can accelerate meaningful change. 

The Missing Metric: Quantifying Biodiversity 

A key barrier to investment in more regenerative practices is the lack of a reliable way to quantify the financial benefits of increased biodiversity. While there are established methods to quantify the effects of regenerative agriculture on soil carbon gains (and hence a carbon market that invests in this), comparable systems to measure biodiversity remain underdeveloped. 

One call to action from Trellis was clear: establish a standardized methodology to measure biodiversity as a core indicator of regenerative agriculture’s success. One idea brought up is to determine indicator species for specific commodities. These species could serve as measurable proof of ecological health.  

Advancing sustainable, regenerative supply chains will require both continued research and concerted collaboration across companies. Trellis has provided a roadmap — now it’s time for companies to rise to the challenge and turn commitment into collective action.