After the resignation of Jan-Kees Vis who has played a leading role in our Alliance, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Giulia Stellari, Director, Sustainable Sourcing, Digital and Carbon Solutions at Unilever, as the new Chair of the Cool Farm Alliance Executive Committee. Giulia brings a wealth of experience, passion and energy to the Cool Farm Alliance and we are excited to have her leadership at this critical juncture in the decade of action.

We (virtually) sat down with Giulia to talk about the opportunities of her new role and the Alliance as a whole.

Giulia, what excites you about your new role as Chair of the Executive Committee?

I believe that the Cool Farm Alliance is a strong coalition right on the cusp of being able to have a bigger impact than ever before. I hope that by taking leadership of the Exec Committee at this moment in time, I can help the CFA grow and thrive as a leading platform developing solutions for climate change mitigation and GHG modelling in agriculture.What could be more important than working together in a pre-competitive platform to agree how to measure greenhouse gasses (GHGs) at farm and then giving farmers the tools they need to manage their impact!

What are your ambitions and hopes for the Cool Farm Alliance for the coming years? 

My hope is that the community continues the unprecedented growth of the last few years and capitalises on the momentum and interest in soil carbon and GHGs to chart a sustainable path for the future. A path that cements the independent, pre-competitive voice that the Alliance represents in defining credible measurements of greenhouse gasses on-farm.

How can tools like the Cool Farm Tool contribute to a more sustainable agricultural future? 

By working as a coalition of value chain partners we can help ensure that the measurement and management of environmental metrics such as GHG, water or biodiversity on farm are standardised and improved. After all, what gets measured gets managed! Ultimately the aim is to help farmers identify the opportunities to drive down their GHG emissions, build soil carbon and chart a course that delivers the reductions needed to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement. The Cool Farm Alliance wants to make sure that they have the needed tools to do that successfully.

Anything you would like to share with companies considering joining the Cool Farm Alliance?

We welcome the support of anyone in the agricultural value chain with an interest in climate change, soil carbon and sustainable agriculture. Only by joining forces, bringing your experience and knowledge to the Alliance, and contributing to the development of our tools can we tackle a challenge as complex and big as climate change. The resilience of our farmers and our value chains will only be strengthened by speaking as one voice and taking collective action.

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Giulia Stellari leads Unilever’s upstream supply chain digital and carbon programs in support of the company’s commitments to climate and nature. She is responsible for the implementation of sustainable sourcing programs for a portfolio of Unilever ingredients and materials. Her work covers the design of digital tools and programs that increase transparency in the upstream supply chain and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of Unilever’s upstream value chain.

Giulia’s previous experience includes being the Founder and President of AgSquared, a software startup that helps small-scale farmers professionalize the management of their farm operations. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology and Genetics from Cornell, and an A.B. from Harvard in Biology.