Tractor Beverage Company, in partnership with sustainability research company HowGood, announced the launch of its Organic Impact Tracker – a sustainability impact tracker developed to quantify the benefit of sourcing organic ingredients versus their conventional counterparts. Tractor is the first beverage brand to track and disclose impact data about its ingredients, supporting the company’s commitment to transparency and sustainable sourcing and responding to consumer demand for clean ingredients and environmental responsibility.
According to a 2023 online survey of 1,093 U.S. adults conducted by an independent survey-research firm, 63 percent of consumers are concerned about synthetic pesticides in the food supply, and 69 percent of consumers are interested in seeing how their beverage choice has an impact on the planet. The Organic Impact Tracker uses five key metrics to show how a single beverage can change the world: synthetic pesticides avoided, organic land supported, carbon emissions avoided, water saved, and improved soil health.
While four of the key metrics are proprietary to HowGood, synthetic pesticides avoided is Tractor’s proprietary algorithm designed to determine the total amount of conventional pesticides offset as a result of using organically grown ingredients to produce its certified organic, non-GMO beverages. Tractor has effectively eliminated 35 tons of synthetic pesticides from the food system since 2020 as a result of sourcing organic ingredients, with a goal to eliminate 1,034 tons by 2033.
“While Tractor is working to make better-for-you craft beverages accessible to all, we are equally dedicated to supporting farming practices that benefit the environment,” said Travis Potter, Co-Founder of Tractor Beverage Company. “We partnered with the best scientists and data analysts in the business to develop a tool that will allow us to measure what matters to us most. Our intent is to encourage farming practices that prevent synthetic pesticides from entering the food system, degrading land, and contaminating water by making this data widely available to the food and beverage industry.”
“We’re excited to partner with Tractor on such industry-leading work to quantify and communicate their commitment to responsibly-grown ingredients,” says João Rafael Brites, Director of Growth and Innovation at HowGood. “Our impact modeling system assesses each ingredient used by Tractor
Beverages, pulling from our database of over 600 data sources and 33,000 ingredients, in order to help their customers fully understand the positive impact of choosing a Tractor beverage and play a part in transforming the beverage industry as a whole.”
Metrics for the Organic Impact Tracker are provided by HowGood, an independent research company and SaaS platform with the world’s largest food ingredient sustainability database. HowGood aggregates information from Kerry, a world leader in taste and nutrition. To develop the Organic Impact Tracker, HowGood worked closely with Kerry to evaluate ingredients from 25 beverages in Tractor’s portfolio. The proprietary new metric for synthetic pesticides avoided was developed by Dr. Stephanie Bledsoe, Doctor of Plant Medicine, and consulting agronomist for Tractor.
“Kerry strives to be our customers’ most valued partner, creating a world of Sustainable Nutrition. We are excited to support this initiative to help validate and quantify the positive impact we can all have on our planet,” says Christina O’Keefe, Director of Sustainability, Kerry North America.
The Organic Impact Tracker will debut at Natural Products Expo West 2023. Experts from Tractor Beverage Company and HowGood, as well as Tractor pouring partners Chipotle and PLNT Burger, will present on a panel discussing how the food and beverage industry can use data-backed claims to communicate sustainability at 1:00 p.m. PST on Friday, March 10.
