ImpactAlpha, July 2 – California Biogas, or CalBio, works with farms to finance and develop biodigesters to reduce farm methane emissions and improve sanitation by converting animal waste to fuel. Land O’Lakes, the $14 billion Minnesota-based dairy cooperative, is partnering with the company in order to support its California-based members in meeting the state’s 2030 methane reduction requirements. (Methane is a shorter-lived but more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.) The collaboration will help Land O’Lakes’ farmers finance, install and manage CalBio’s biodigesters on their farms.
- “Impact investing at its best”… Land O’Lakes’ Matt Carstens said the initiative exemplifies effective impact investing by “eliminating barriers to the adoption of new sustainability technology, unlocking new revenue streams for farmers, cutting emissions and creating a public good.”
- Supportive farmer financing… Land O’Lakes recently provided a $1.5 million loan to one of its California dairy farmers to install a biodigester to manage waste from the farm’s 2,300 cows.