Close Menu
News

Diageo announces £450k of climate funding African farms

Diageo today announcd £450,000 of funding intended to lessen and monitor the impact of water and climate crises on smallholder farms in Africa.

Diageo announces climate funding for farms in Africa

As part of its Society 2030: Spirit of Progress ESG action plan, Diageo aims to monitor its farming programmes to preserve natural resources.

Rainfall in Africa is projected to decrease by 10–20% or more in the next 50 years, threatening to undermine global progress toward poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable development. Diageo has launched the funding to focus on three key areas: water, carbon and biodiversity impacts.

Kirstie McIntyre, global sustainability director for Diageo, said of the funding: “Even under the 1.5c trajectory called for by the Paris Agreement, farmers in the southern hemisphere will need help to adapt to climate change. Our next Diageo Sustainable Solutions round will create action for innovators around the world to help save lives and livelihoods in the countries and communities that are most at risk.”

The pilots will be taking place in East Africa and if successful will be rolled out across Diageo’s smallholder farmer network across Cameroon, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Tanzania, Turkey, the Seychelles, South Africa and Uganda.

John Cant, head of Diageo Sustainable Solutions, said: “Globally, we have unpredictable weather with increasing droughts and floods and a gap in our agriculture monitoring capabilities. Soil moisture monitoring must be improved so we can look at where we can improve soil water holding capacity, supporting our farmers to maintain a steady farming cycle and income.”

Diageo Sustainable Solutions launched in November 2020 to foster collaboration between Diageo and innovators on the next generation of sustainability technology.

The objective of the global programme is to develop technology that can help Diageo achieve its sustainability goals by 2030.

Current pilots underway from previous application rounds include a partnership with EXXERGY, Dassault Systemes and Ardagh group to develop a coating to make glass thinner without losing its strength to reduce emissions and the resources needed.

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No