Regenerative Agriculture Co-Founder x3 || Director of Adoption and Scaling, UMN Forever Green Initiative
Congrats and thanks to Climate Farmers across the pond for implementing a type of #stewardownership in their legal structure! Thanks Ivo Degn and Philippe Birker for sharing the journey of finding legal structures and financial support that can advance these principles in practice. Steward-ownership is a great model that I hope gets more attention in the North American regenerative agriculture movement. Why? Because the default model of profit-maximization, as fast as possible and often at the expense of all else, is fundamentally at odds with the social, economic, and environmental regeneration the movement is trying to advance. So it remains a huge question- how do we thread this needle between creating successful, profitable companies in the very difficult sector of food and agriculture without, over time, regressing to the mean of extractive, degenerative business? Steward-ownership provides one path. Like all paths it is imperfect, but it is one I have been intensely interested in for several years now. Thanks again Climate Farmers for sharing your journey!!
Scaling regenerative agriculture in Europe with Climate Farmers. Co-founder of Love Foundation, VCA NL & Hug Records. TED Countdown & BMW Responsible Leader. Studying regenerative culture & regenerative leadership.
This might be the most important letter I ever send. I posted it yesterday after leaving the German embassy in Lisbon with an authentication for my power of attorney. Once this letter arrives at the notary in Germany, the non-profit arm of Climate Farmers will have a golden share from our company, in order to safeguard it forever against mission drift. This way we know that Climate Farmers will always be focussed on supporting farmers and scaling regenerative agriculture in Europe. It is very related to the amazing work of the Purpose Economy and you can learn more about it when you listen to the interview that Ivo Degn and me gave to Koen van Seijen on his Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast (link in comments)
Thank you Colin Cureton!!