Soils Investment Hub Call to Action

An equitable, net-zero and nature-positive food system that can nourish all people is dependent on healthy soils as described by the Global Soil Hub Solution Cluster

There is an urgent need to accelerate and scale investments into soil health that will create opportunities for nature positive outcomes, sequester carbon and improve rural livelihoods, whilst ensuring nutritious food is produced.

This call to action aims to mobilize business to make commitments to improving soil health and ensure that investments are targeted towards halting the erosion of natural capital, enhancing carbon sequestration capacity, and payments for eco-system services. To support business, WBCSD has established the Soils Investment Hub (SIH) that aims to be a resource for knowledge and expertise and connect business to existing platforms, initiatives, and coalitions that can mobilize finance, engage with farmers and drive value chain collaboration.

In line with the implementing actions of the Business Declaration on Food Systems Transformation this call to action emphasises the need for business to work collaboratively to accelerate and scale investments in soil health that:

Scale science-based solutions that enable harmonized approaches to the measurement, reporting and verification of soil health
Provide investments in research and innovation to support bridging the $700 billion per year nature financing gap and aligning financial flows with public funding
Contribute to improved livelihoods and wellbeing through mechanisms that provide payments for eco-system services
Incentivize consumers as agents of change through outreach and education to raise the importance of investing in soil health for healthy, nutritious, and accessible diets
Create transparency through aligning soil health investments with environmental and social risks and impacts
Ensure the transformation includes a just transition that supports capacity building and knowledge transfer for improving soil health

Ahead of the September UN Food Systems Summit and the UNFCCC COP 26 in November, we are calling on companies to:

Join a growing group of business that have made a public commitment to improving soil health and add your commitment to the Soil Investment Hub website
Ensure investments in soil health are aligned with emerging best practice through participating in the development of the soil health investment toolkit
Join the Friends of Soil Health group to engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue and further develop knowledge and expertise on the key actions required to accelerate and scale investment in soil health

Leading up to the UNFCCC COP26, WBCSD will be organizing several public events to build momentum towards making an ambitious commitment that charts a trajectory towards increasing private sector investment in soil health.