McCormick: Collaboration for Regenerative Agriculture

McCormick & Company is a global leader in flavour innovation, operating in 29 countries and selling its products across 150 countries and territories.

It has formed partnerships with PepsiCo and the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) to help scale regenerative agriculture across its US supply chain.

The United Nations (UN) Global Compact has showcased McCormick’s journey as a case study, showing how collaboration can make an impact in sustainable food production.

Implementing regenerative agriculture

As a player in the food industry, McCormick’s work is heavily dependent on agriculture.

The company’s resilience is directly connected to that of farmers, which are at the centre of the supply chain.

Currently, agriculture is facing many environmental pressures and systemic risks, including soil degradation and water scarcity.

Many farmers struggle financially to implement climate-smart practices, with a high upfront investment required.

McCormick has recognised this issue and is working on supporting farmers to overcome these barriers, investing in regenerative practices and ensuring long-term sustainability in its supply chain.

What actions did McCormick take?

McCormick has set itself a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, with its goals validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The company has also worked on mapping its supply chain, applying SWOF’s supply shed methodology.

This defines a geographic region that reflects sourcing areas for dairy, which allows for measurable sustainability outcomes.

Once its key sourcing regions were identified, McCormick partnered with SWOF to implement a programme that supports farmers adopting sustainable practices.

Farmers provided data to SWOF, including crop rotation, planting dates, fertilisation and tilling practices.

SWOF provided financial incentives and technical and agronomic support to these farmers, which were encouraged to implement regenerative agriculture practices to improve soil health, conserve water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Kathy Rostkowski, Chief Sustainability Officer at McCormick & Company, said on LinkedIn: “At McCormick & Company, sustainability includes protecting the ingredients and communities that make our flavours possible – and ensuring our business can thrive for generations to come. That means advancing our climate readiness and strengthening farmer resilience.

“Proud to see McCormick featured in this new United Nations Global Compact case study – showing how we’re cutting GHG emissions and strengthening resilience for US farmers.

“That impact matters, but so does how we got there: clear leadership, cross-functional collaboration and strong value-chain partnerships – including with PepsiCo and Soil and Water Outcomes Fund. It’s a powerful example of teams and partners working together to deliver real, measurable impact.”

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The key takeaways from the initiative

In the first year of the project, McCormick’s funding helped support more than 100 farmers in adopting regenerative agriculture practices across more than 80,000 acres of farmland in the US Midwest.

These efforts led to the abatement of more than 50,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the UN Global Compact, a key internal outcome was showcasing the strategic value of collaborative partnerships to achieve shared sustainability goals.

Off the back of this success, McCormick hopes to replicate the programme with other customers and suppliers, which allows for cost-sharing while accelerating climate progress in the food sector.

The company has taken lessons from the project, including that identifying shared interests among stakeholders can bring cross-functional collaboration to advance sustainability targets.

Kathy says: “McCormick will continue to build on this strategic supply chain partnership – collaborating with our customers and key suppliers to champion regenerative agriculture practices that secure the future of flavour for generations to come.”