01 Nov

Report series on Trends in Regenerative Farming and Soil Carbon Sequestration now available!

Posted by Team Meros in Publications

Global interest in the role of regenerative agriculture and carbon farming continues to grow. There is deep interest in learning more about the potential of these approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and mitigate climate change risks. And there is deep interest in learning how these areas will be an opportunity, or a challenge, for companies and industries involved in global sourcing, supply chains and investment in food and agriculture.

Internationally, various mechanisms are being developed to provide financial and policy incentives for change, including soil carbon sequestration through the introduction of regenerative farming methods such as no-tillage and cover crops, and carbon credit generation through nitrous oxide suppression through nitrogen fertilizer reduction. Improved MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) technologies are being developed and tested in the market.

As companies expand their international business operations, they will be required to understand and  adapt to these changes. At the same time, these transformations in the global food and agriculture sector are being viewed as new business opportunities for companies who can provide products and services that support a transition to lower emission supply chains.  

Meros has created a three-volume report that gives an overview of the trends and developments in this sector. These reports are available as off-the-shelf reports or can be customized to suit the needs of specific companies.

Please contact us to discuss more! 

Volume 1: Trends in Regenerative Agriculture

  1. What is Regenerative Agriculture?
  2. Increased Usage of No-till Farming and Herbicide-resistant Seeds
  3. Incentive Mechanisms for Regenerative Agriculture and Private Sector/Financial Institution Initiatives
  4. Third-party Certification for Regenerative Agriculture
  5. Future Outlook for Regenerative Agriculture

Volume 2: Trends in Carbon Farming and Soil Carbon Sequestration

  1. What is Carbon Farming?
  2. Potential for Soil Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Land
  3. Financial Incentives for Carbon Farming
  4. Carbon Pricing for Agricultural/Natural Sources
  5. Challenges and Future Outlook for Soil Carbon Sequestration

Volume 3: Private Sector and Government Initiatives in Carbon Farming (Focus on Europe and the United States)

  1. Private Sector Initiatives in Soil Carbon Sequestration
    • Certification Schemes for Agricultural Carbon Credits in Voluntary Carbon Markets
    • Private Company Marketplaces: Startup Initiatives
    • Private Company Marketplaces: Major Corporation Initiatives
  2. Government Initiatives in Soil Carbon Sequestration
    • U.S. Government Carbon Farming Initiatives and Subsidies
    • EU Government Carbon Farming Initiatives and the Carbon Removal Certification Framework
    • Australian Government’s ACCU Emissions Trading Scheme and Agricultural Carbon Credit Projects
  3. Future Outlook

If you are interested in how these trends may be impact your company in particular or how regulatory and market trends in regenerative farming, carbon sequestration and sustainable supply chains may impact your business, please reach out. Meros creates customized analysis and research to help in your business decision-making.  

inquiries@merosconsulting.com

15 Jun

Our summer research assistant has arrived – welcome Kana Ueno!

Posted by Team Meros in News

Our newest summer assistant has arrived and is already hard at work. Welcome, Kana Ueno!

Kana is an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where she is majoring in Sustainable Development Studies. While she grew up in Tokyo, she has an adventurous spirit that led her to choose to study in Switzerland for high school before moving to Scotland to continue her exploration of the world.

She is a full-time summer intern with us in Tokyo this summer and is already deep into research on aquaponics and its global players, supporting field interviews on Thai edible insect products sold in Japan and beginning research into her own independent project on sustainable palm oil.

Kana explained her motivations for wanting to join us this summer. “I wanted to be a summer assistant at Meros because I liked that Meros specializes in food and agribusiness consulting. Since I have been interested in the topic of sustainability and as it is what I major in at university, I was looking for work experience where I can learn how sustainability comes up “in the real world”. After reading the description of what Meros does and how Meros navigates decision-making along the value chain in the food industry, I instantly knew I can learn something new in this environment. I am still considering several possible career paths and I really wanted to know what consulting firms do and how they approach their work.”

This summer Kana will be diving into the complex issue of sustainable palm oil and the incentives and certifications that can encourage sustainable practices in palm oil supply. She expects to conduct interviews with palm oil sourcing experts in the EU and Japan to identify some best practices and leading players in sustainable palm oil.

“Although I am just starting to dig into the topic, I am aiming to find out how sustainable palm oil is procured by companies in Japan, with specific focus on the RSPO certification system and the guidelines/policies Japanese companies have proposed in terms of palm oil procurement. I had learned in my university studies about how palm oil plantations can have a destructive impact on the environment, and I became very curious about how this issue is perceived and being approached in the Japanese food industry. I am excited to dig deeper into this topic and find out the dilemmas companies are facing in sourcing sustainable palm oil, as well as what “sustainable” palm oil really means.”

Of course, as a Team Meros member, Kana works hard, but also plays hard. “I am looking forward to meeting up with my friends to explore izakaya Japanese pubs, especially in some of our favorite Tokyo areas such as Sangenjaya and Gakugei-daigaku. Though I am not a big fan of the humid and burning hot summer in Tokyo with its annoying mosquitoes, I am excited for the summer working at Meros and spending some good quality time with my friends and family. I definitely want to go for a drive whenever possible – I don’t have that many chances to drive in Scotland and I need to keep up my driving skills!  I am also planning to improve my golf game and travel with my family.”

“When I am in Scotland, out of all kinds of Japanese food, what I miss the most is definitely my mum’s homemade dishes like cabbage rolls and hijiki seaweed. I love any kind of cuisine and am always keen to try new foods, but when I am back in Tokyo nothing beats good sashimi and my izakaya favorites like dashimaki tamago, – rolled omelettes made of eggs and dashi. Yum!”

10 Jun

Welcome back, Kana! Second-year summer assistant!

Posted by Team Meros in News

Summer is here and that means….Kana is back!  Kana Yamada is back for her second year as a summer research assistant. Kana just finished her third year at Wellesley College in the US, where she is a political science and music major, and has returned here to her hometown of Tokyo to continue her work with Meros.

“I wanted to come back to Meros for the summer because I had such a rich experience as an summer research assistant last summer. At the time I had barely any knowledge of consulting nor profound insights into the agriculture and food industry, but through the opportunity of joining some actual projects, I was able to learn research methods, ways to organize data, and how to conduct interviews. But the primary reason was that everybody on the Meros team is very welcoming, work-efficient, brilliant, and became my role models. The warm community enabled me to learn and grow, and as a second-year intern, I am hoping to be able to help the Meros team even more compared to last year.”

This summer Kana will be digging into the background of Japan’s new Green Food System Strategy and sustainability trends in trade and sourcing in the food and agriculture supply chain. “This summer, I am working on a research project on Japan’s new Green Food System Strategy. As the world is facing severe environmental challenges due to climate change and the agriculture industry in Japan has been stagnant for years, the Strategy is seen as a driver for a building a more sustainable society and more resilient supply chains. I am intrigued to see how the policy can (or cannot) be a trigger for a change and how the Japanese food industry will transition to a stronger and more sustainable system.”

Kana also plans to use the summer to plan for the future. “Some things I am looking forward to doing this summer are meeting up with friends and looking for jobs. I had not been able to see my friends as often recently as the COVID situation was very unstable with the new variants appearing. As many of my friends are already in their last year of college, I am hoping to see them and catch up with what has been going on with their life. In addition, I hope to use my summertime to clarify what job I would like to do after graduating college. Along with attending some career forums, I think working at Meros will enable me to meet people from many companies, industries, and positions, which would be an inspiration in figuring out what (and where) I see myself working in the future.

Welcome back, Kana! We look forward to your positive energy and contributions!