Athian, Indianapolis, Indiana, announced Nov. 19 that it has facilitated $18 million in payments to farmers since 2024, financially rewarding them for implementing emissions-reducing practices, including innovative feed ingredients and alternative manure management.
Athian, which was founded in 2022 to connect food companies with farmers in their supply chains to achieve Scope 3 goals, also announced it successfully completed a $4 million Series A funding round. These milestones not only signal the food industry’s continued commitment to sustainability goals but also demonstrate the credibility of Athian’s unique, technology-driven model.
New investors include Ajinomoto Group Ventures; Chipotle Mexican Grill Cultivate Next Fund; and Mondelēz International, Inc., through its impact investing platform, Sustainable Futures. Along with Athian’s seed investors—the Australian Agriculture Company; California Dairies, Inc.; Elanco Animal Health Incorporated; dsm-firmenich Ventures; Newtrient, LLC; and Tyson Ventures —these funding partners span the breadth of the food supply chain, from global leaders in protein production to ingredient manufacturing, consumer-packaged goods companies and food service.
These investors will help inform Athian’s continued growth as it expands its capabilities and reach to accommodate new species and international markets.
“Athian’s original vision was to bring together companies from every step in the food supply chain to deliver a more resilient and sustainable product to consumers,” said Paul Myer, Athian founder and CEO. “Our new funding partners are helping us achieve that vision by supporting our industry-wide effort to give credit to farmers, processors and food companies for their sustainability efforts.”
Athian helps farmers adopt science-based practices, called protocols, by selling the verified outcomes to downstream partners, such as CPGs, grocery stores and restaurants. These food brands then claim and report project outcomes as Scope 3 insets that help make credible progress toward their corporate goals, reward producers for on-farm reductions and meet increasing consumer demand for sustainable products.
Athian announced the first sale of verified insets to Dairy Farmers of America, the largest U.S. milk marketing cooperative, in January 2024. Since then, major accomplishments have included:
- Increasing the number of on-farm protocols to include alternative manure management, additional feed ingredients and digester cap and flare;
- Facilitating $18 million in payments to farmers for emissions reductions achieved on their operations;
- Expanding Athian’s independent Scientific Advisory Board to include Australian market expertise; and
- Signing a new memorandum of understanding with the National Milk Producers Federation and California Dairies, Inc. to develop a carbon intensity protocol.
Athian’s technology helps food companies achieve their Scope 3 emissions goals by making the process more predictable, efficient and trustworthy for credible progress reporting. Reductions achieved through the supply chain partnerships Athian facilitates are improving the footprint of dairy products such as milk, cheese and dairy ingredients.
“Chipotle’s Cultivate Next investment in Athian furthers our mission to Cultivate a Better World by addressing emissions from areas like animal agriculture and developing innovative solutions that will make lasting change,” said Curt Garner, president, chief strategy and technology officer, Chipotle. “By 2030, we aim to report a 50% reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions from a 2019 base year and with tools that incentivize on-farm GHG reductions, it will help companies like ours that are sourcing the materials to achieve these ambitious goals.”
This funding round will help Athain continue to grow and integrate additional capabilities, such as:
- Increasing the number of protocols available for farmers to make more options available across a broader set of operational conditions.
- Facilitating cost and claim sharing among supply chain partners to make emissions reductions more accessible to mid- to small-sized companies.
- Piloting the Athian model in beef cattle operations to test expansion into livestock beyond dairy cattle and outside the U.S., which is where Athian got its start.
