Nestlé and BirdLife Europe have announced a 3.5-year collaboration to measure the impact of selected regenerative agriculture practices on biodiversity across European agricultural landscapes and supply chains. The research will assess whether these practices measurably benefit the wildlife that depends on farmland and will help identify where farming approaches can be strengthened.
Europe's fields have grown quieter. According to the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme, European farmland bird populations declined by 58% between 1980 and 2024.
Agricultural intensification is the main factor associated with the decline. For Nestlé, regenerative agriculture supports resilient food systems by conserving and restoring soil, water and biodiversity, capturing carbon and supporting farmers' livelihoods.
This is a science-based program, and understanding how this farming transition can help restore natural resources is key to supporting agricultural supply-chain resilience and the long-term availability of key ingredients. For BirdLife, birds are a trusted gauge of environmental health, and a way to measure in the real world how regenerative practices deliver for ecosystems.
The science sits at the heart of the collaboration. On participating farms, BirdLife's national partners will monitor birds, butterflies and wild bees using established survey methods. They plan to compare regenerative agriculture fields with conventional ones on a like-for-like basis, aiming to build a comparable picture over time, grounded in the same standards used to track Europe's farmland bird populations. The evidence will help Nestlé, BirdLife and participating farmers understand which practices deliver the strongest outcomes for biodiversity and where approaches may need to be adapted.
"Current intensive farming is wiping out biodiversity, depleting soils and rapidly increasing farmers' vulnerability to climate change. A profound transformation is urgently needed, and fortunately, many farmers are already experimenting with new approaches. As a key player on the food market, Nestlé can support this transition, but it needs sound science to know which practices to back," said Ariel Brunner, director of BirdLife Europe and Central Asia.
The collaboration starts in 2026 in Spain, building on the biodiversity monitoring Nestlé and SEO/BirdLife have run on dairy farms since 2021, and in Poland with OTOP - BirdLife Polska, with Belgium joining from 2027 alongside Natuurpunt/Natagora.
In each market, the work is designed with and for local farmers, whose knowledge and participation are central to its success.
