CARPE DIEM RAISINS

Helping a South African producer switch to regenerative practices

Grapes
about this project:

Carpe Diem is a leading producer of organic grapes and raisins in South Africa, accounting for a quarter of the country’s supply. Faced with production and customer pressures, the grape grower is shifting towards regenerative practices

2018

Carpe diem introduce regenerative farming

2023

Carpe diem starts working with Landler to track the impact of their practices

2023

Increased water holding capacity by 40%

The Problem

One of the driving forces behind Carpe Diem’s move to nature positive practices is the need to meet its production targets for the long-term and sustainability expectations from their customers

Cost explosion

Overfarmed land had increased per-hectare input and irrigation costs

Yield loss

Extreme weather conditions and natural resource overuse had negatively impacted growing conditions

Land devaluation

Degradation and yield volatility had decreased the value of Carpe Diem’s land

The Problem

In addition to the depleting health of its land, Carpe Diem also faced a number of expectations from their customers which could be solved through regenerative practices

  • New reporting requirements: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),  Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and EU taxonomy are calling on Carpe Diem’s customers to increase sustainability transparency in their supply chains.

  • Net zero expectations: Beyond transparency, the SBTi is raising ambitions towards businesses meeting net zero targets.

  • Consumer demands: In tandem with regulatory pressures, Carpe Diem’s customers are facing calls from consumers to make nature positive decisions.

  • Procurement risks: Extreme weather and natural resource overuse put Carpe Diem’s customers’ supply at risk.

The Solution

Our AI-backed monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) tools gave Carpe Diem a better understanding of the biophysical elements of their land, across carbon, water, soil and biodiversity. 

Drone Shot Nature Trees from above
Nature Uplifts

Using satellite and ground data, our tools make it possible for Carpe Diem to predict and prove how nature positive practices will impact the health of its land

Carbon

Soil organic carbon
Aboveground woody biomass

Soil

Nutrient retention
Erosion
Soil biodiversity

Water

Water holding capacity
Drought resistence

Biodiversity

Species richness
Rare species
Habitat diversity
Carpe Diem now
Carpe Diem later
THE IMPACT

Carpe Diem is no stranger to nature positive decision-making. In 2018, the producer started to implement regenerative farming practices including planting cover crops and composting.

MEASURABLE IMPACT

Using Landler, Carpe Diem was able to measure the impact of these practices, and found that they had increased water holding capacity by 40%. This kept soil moisture levels above the wilting point of the crop, maintaining production during a drought, when neighbouring farms suffered decreases.

40%
Increase in water holding capacity
Water holding capacity uplift MEASURED AT CARPE DIEM FARM
Water holding capacity
Water moisture
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Case studies

Landler in action

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Slow Coffee is using Landler to inset within its supply chain. As a first step, it onboarded their growing partners in Laos onto Landler, gaining a deeper understanding of the impact regenerative practices and receiving data to share with legislators and investors. 
Slow Coffee is using Landler to inset within its supply chain. As a first step, it onboarded their growing partners in Laos onto Landler, gaining a deeper understanding of the impact regenerative practices and receiving data to share with legislators and investors. 

Creating regenerative agreements between farmers and suppliers

Germany
followfood is using Landler to understand and track the impact of regenerative practices across its supply chain, creating outcome-based payments for its suppliers, and helping to guide investment decisions in the future.
followfood is using Landler to understand and track the impact of regenerative practices across its supply chain, creating outcome-based payments for its suppliers, and helping to guide investment decisions in the future.
Get started

Restore Nature.
Create value.
Now.

Drone Shot Nature Beach

FAQs

Are you an MRV company?

We are not an MRV company or a research group. We also donʼt just offer Natural Capital Accounts. We offer something unique, a new market infrastructure that transforms nature positive outcomes into assets that can be traded. We call this Nature Equity. Our goal is for Nature Equity to become a well-known term that is adopted by actors in our field, and beyond. For that to happen, we need to bring people along with us, using our communications to define Nature Equity whenever we can.

How does it work?

Landler monitors plots entered into the platform by Land Stewards using remote sensing and other data sources. These models periodically perform measurements and predictions of the following indicators:

Carbon: Soil organic carbon stock, Greenhouse gas emissions

Water: Surface soil moisture, Water holding capacity, Wilting point, Soil moisture trend

Biodiversity: Percentage cover of biodiversity zones. In addition to these state indicators, Landler provides medium-term forecasts of potential improvements in soil organic carbon stock and water holding capacity under optimal land-management scenarios. Model measurements and predictions are passed to the land steward in the form of a Natural Capital Account.

What kind of companies use Landler?

Our first users are the Agrifood companies and the farmers who act as their suppliers. Investing in Nature Equity assets can help businesses secure their supply chain for the long-term, all while meeting nature positive expectations from consumers and scope 3 requirements. Businesses enter into Nature Equity agreements with land stewards. These are outcome-based contracts wherein businesses pay land stewards when they demonstrate improvements in carbon storage, water holding capacity or biodiversity. In doing so, businesses increase the quality and resilience of supply, while meeting the requirements of growing nature-related legislation.

What technology does Landler use to analyse the land?

Our MRV technology is used to monitor Natural Capital in the dimensions of Carbon Water and Biodiversity using a combination of local sampling data and earth observation satellite data, machine learning and biophysical process modelling. A process model simulates biophysical processes based on known physical and chemical processes, for example carbon turnover rates in soils. Landler takes a special approach, using the earth observation data to derive inputs to biophysical process models where feasible, in addition to other data sources, for example weather records. A machine learning model is an encapsulated statistical relationship which between one or more satellite observations and field reference data. For building machine learning models, we collect field reference data from a variety of private and public databases as well as directly from land stewards. In addition, Landler works with partners to collect measurements directly from the field (samples). Landler relies on different satellite-based measurement techniques (e.g., optical, radar, lidar) in combination with biophysical process models and machine learning models to provide scalable, independent and affordable MRV services.

What is Nature Equity?

Building on the principles of natural capital accounting, Nature Equity starts with better understanding our land. MRV models, fed by geospatial and ground data, measure the biophysical aspects of a piece of land across multiple indicators. When enhancements are made to the biophysical aspects of this land, they become Nature Equity Assets. This asset can then be bought and sold on Landler.

What is a Nature Equity Uplift?

Uplift units are a digital unique and non-reproducible representation of an improvement measurement of natural capital value, as measured by Landler.