Unilever Exec Sees Need to Encourage Climate-Friendly Farming

Federal regulations and a lack of targeted funding are preventing farmers from using climate-friendly agriculture practices, a representative from consumer-goods giant Unilever told lawmakers July 24.

The agriculture sector can play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, both by reducing the sector's own emissions footprint and updating soil practices to facilitate greater carbon storage in soils, Stefani Millie Grant, senior manager for external affairs and sustainability at Unilever, told the House Budget Committee during a hearing on the costs of climate change.

But she said farmers are slower to adopt these farming practices, Grant said.

Federal agriculture programs either don't do enough to encourage the practices or actively hinder farmers who seek to test them out, she said.

"Crop insurance is set up in such a way that it's not advantageous to do this," Grant told Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) during the hearing. "You could actually risk defaulting on your crop insurance by doing some of these practices" because of the way the Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency regulates, she added.

The Risk Management Agency provides federal crop insurance as well as develops and reviews crop insurance products to ensure actuarial soundness.

Part of the Solution

The agricultural sector could see significant impacts to crop yield and rising costs from climate change, including extreme weather like more frequent flooding or drought.

Crop insurance costs for corn, soybeans, and wheat, for example, could spike 40% by 2080, according to a committee report released by Democrats ahead of the hearing, citing 2016 findings by the White House on the fiscal risks of climate change.

During the hearing, Panetta said his California Central Coast district, which he referred to as the "salad bowl of the world" due to its agricultural presence, is very vulnerable to climate change.

But he also acknowledged the potential of the farming community to be part of the solution. Agriculture is one of the few sectors that has "potential for significant increases in carbon sequestration to offset carbon pollution," Panetta said.

"I think we understand that we need to think about the adverse impacts on agriculture, as well as the unique role agriculture can play in addressing climate change," he said.

More Federal Support

Grant, in response, urged Congress to boost funding for farmers to test out climate-friendly soil and other practices.

She encouraged stronger support for the Agriculture Department's National Resources Conservation Service regional offices, which could help offer technical assistance to farmers, as well as public-private partnerships to allow funding for farmers to test practices on smaller pieces of their land.

"If you've got a 500-acre farm, you're not going to do this on all 500 acres," Grant said. "Farmers want to go in and test this on 40 acres, test it out, see what works, learn from it, and then slowly expand it out."

Carbon Pricing

Grant also offered support more broadly for Congress setting a carbon price, noting that Unilever and some of its subsidiary companies such as Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream already use internal carbon pricing.

But Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) questioned Grant on the multiple carbon prices that the company uses.

"How in the world am I supposed to bring 435 members of Congress together on a carbon-pricing scheme that's the right one when even as a company that is following your internal drive you've not been able to come together on a single carbon pricing model?" Woodall said.

In response, Grant said Unilever allows some of its companies, such as Ben & Jerry's, to implement their own climate targets, but that Unilever also has an overarching set of principles it follows.

Woodall then asked if Congress ultimately settled on a carbon price lower than the one Unilever uses internally, if the company would lower its standards to meet the new federal policy.

"As we're a global company, we'd probably keep our global level," Grant said.

Unilever owns scores of other consumer brands, including Lipton, Good Humor, Klondike, Q-tips, Dollar Shave Club, Hellmann's, Breyers, Dove, and Axe.