Pre-Conferences
Organic and Regenerative: together towards the future and beyond?
Image courtesy of 綠光農場
This pre-conference aims to solidify the role of organic agriculture in the regenerative movement, emphasizing strategic positioning to influence policy, attract investments, and guide global agricultural practices towards true sustainability.
Objectives
- Highlight the synergy and delineate the distinctions between organic and regenerative agriculture principles and practices
- Discuss the role of organic agriculture as the foundation of regenerative practices to ensure sustainability and avoid greenwashing
- Formulate a strategic declaration on regenerative agriculture’s alignment with organic principles to guide future policy and practice
- Explore innovations and learning opportunities from regenerative practices that could enhance organic agriculture
- Getting a common understanding of outcome-based schemes using regenerative as concept (like CO2 footprints) and the future impact on processed based schemes as organic
- Create actionable insights for integrating regenerative principles and practices within certified organic farming frameworks; discuss interactions between outcome-based and process-based approaches and coming to possible conclusions for future improvements of standards and regulations
- Decide strategically and collectively what the term regenerative should refer to via drafting a common declaration on guiding principles which could be used by IFOAM OI and regional bodies and members
Main Topics
- Defining the synergy between organic and regenerative agriculture within current legislative frameworks
- Strategies for positioning organic agriculture prominently within the regenerative narrative to attract funding and investment
- Addressing misconceptions and the risk of greenwashing associated with the term “regenerative”
Expected Outcomes
- Unified understanding of how organic can lead within the regenerative narrative
- Strategic declaration on the use of the term “regenerative” to reinforce organic standards
- Actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners on integrating and promoting organic principles within regenerative frameworks
Format
- Panel discussions and workshops with breakout sessions or group discussion in the same room
Steering committee members
- ICEA (Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification) representative – Mariano Serratore
- IFOAM Organics Europe representative – Eduardo Cuoco and Silvia Schmidt
- IFOAM Organics International World Board representative – Sarah Compson and Paul Hombeck
- Rodale Institute representative
- Regenerative Organic Alliance representative
- Organic Trade Association (US) representative
Timeline
- Welcome remarks by ICEA and IFOAM Organics Europe. (15 minutes)
- Panel 1: “Organic as a Model for Regenerative Practices: Ensuring Integrity and Avoiding Greenwash.” (60 minutes)
- Panel 2: Expert panels discussing both synergies and necessary distinctions between organic standards and regenerative claims. (60 minutes)
- Break (30 minutes)
- Workshop: “Leveraging Regenerative Innovations to Enhance Organic Agriculture.” – Interactive breakout sessions focused on case studies and developing guidelines for integrating regenerative practices with organic certification and drafting a guiding declaration for the OWC (to be checked with organisers if possible) – (60 minutes)
- Break (15 minutes)
- Closing Plenary/report from workshop: “Drafting a Strategic Declaration on Organic and Regenerative Synergies.” (30 minutes)
- Total time of the pre-conference: 4.30 hrs
Key Info
Dates:
1 December 2024
Half day starting at 13:00 – 18:00 (GMT+8)
Format:
Language will be English
Main Organizer:
ICEA (Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale – Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification)
www.icea.bio
Co-organizer:
IFOAM Organics Europe
Target Audience:
- Organic and regenerative community
- Organic and regenerative farmers
- Certifiers and policymakers
- Environmental NGOs
- Academics and students in agricultural sciences
- IFOAM Regional bodies and sector platforms
Maximum Participants:
The Pre-conference can accommodate 100 participants in person.
Registration Fee:
Free of charge
