Regrow

Building a SaaS Product to Quantify Verifiable Scope 3 Emissions

In response to the agricultural sector’s growing need for transparent, science-based sustainability metrics, Regrow Ag launched its Sustainability Insights product. The solution enables food and agribusinesses to track, measure, and improve the environmental impact of their agricultural supply chains. Through rigorous data science, user-centric design, and deep agronomic expertise, Regrow developed a scalable platform that empowers companies to meet their sustainability goals and report on Scope 3 emissions with confidence.

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Jeff was instrumental in helping us deliver on complex sustainability and compliance initiatives for key customers like General Mills and Oatly. He brought clarity to our data strategy, bridged technical details with customer needs, and helped us move faster with confidence.

- Dan Passette, Former CTO

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Jeff Butler was the first Product Manager hired to build out Regrow’s Sustainability Insights Scope 3 emissions quantification product. Over the course of 2 years, he took the product through “0 to 1” maturity growth and kick-started the “1 to n” growth phase.

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Regrow Ag is a company focused on accelerating the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices to build a more resilient and sustainable food system. They offer a platform that helps businesses across the agricultural supply chain measure, report, and reduce on-farm emissions. Regrow’s technology utilizes remote sensing, machine learning, and soil modeling to provide credible and verifiable environmental outcomes data.

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Challenge

As climate change intensifies, companies in the food and agriculture sectors are under mounting pressure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and demonstrate climate action across their supply chains. However, organizations often lack visibility into on-farm practices and their corresponding environmental impacts, particularly Scope 3 emissions, which can account for over 80% of a company’s total carbon footprint.

Key challenges included:

Limited data availability on agricultural practices and outcomes at the field level.
Inconsistent measurement methodologies, making it difficult to compare or verify sustainability metrics.
Complexity in translating science into actionable business insights for non-technical stakeholders.

Solution

Regrow, led by Jeff Butler as Product Manager, set out to create a SaaS product that bridges the gap between science and sustainability action in agriculture. Sustainability Insights was designed to:

Quantify on-farm GHG emissions and carbon intensity.
Assess the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, such as reduced tillage, cover cropping, and optimized nitrogen use.
Provide scalable, credible reporting aligned with industry standards and frameworks (e.g., GHG Protocol, FLAG Guidance).

Key features include:

Field-Level Data Analysis: Uses satellite imagery, remote sensing, and farm management data to analyze practices at scale.
Emissions Modeling: Applies science-backed models (e.g., DNDC) to estimate GHG emissions and soil carbon sequestration.
Customizable Dashboards: Offers intuitive visualizations tailored for sustainability teams, procurement managers, and corporate reporting.
Benchmarking and Insights: Compares regions, suppliers, and practices to identify opportunities for impact.

Sustainability Dashboard preview from Regrow's SaaS

Approach

Jeff Butler led Regrow’s cross-functional team of product management, data scientists, agronomists, and software engineers to:

Engage stakeholders: Conducted user interviews with food companies, suppliers, and growers to understand needs and expectations.
Build data pipelines: Integrated multi-source datasets, including satellite data, weather, soil databases, and farm records.
Develop robust models: Leveraged validated biogeochemical models to estimate emissions, ensuring scientific rigor.
Ensure transparency and compliance: Designed reporting to align with recognized sustainability frameworks and third-party verification requirements.
Pilot and iterate: Launched pilots with key partners to refine the product before scaling.

Impact

Jeff Butler’s work on Sustainability Insights catalyzed a new strategic direction for Regrow. With Sustainability Insights, Regrow has become a trusted partner for leading food and ag businesses like General Mills and Oatly that are seeking to transform their supply chains. The platform facilitates compliance with evolving sustainability standards and fosters meaningful collaboration between food companies, suppliers, and growers on the journey toward a more regenerative agricultural system.

Dan Passette

CTO

"Jeff was instrumental in helping us deliver on complex sustainability and compliance initiatives for key customers like General Mills and Oatly. He brought clarity to our data strategy, bridged technical details with customer needs, and helped us move faster with confidence."