Contributing to the emergence of the sustainable agriculture of the future

The environmental transition, new diets, demands for traceability, demographic growth, the need for protein... All these challenges will determine the future of agriculture at a time when the transition to a circular economy is vital. SUEZ is innovating to provide farmers with global and integrated solutions that will improve the management of the resources.

The issues

Feed one billion more human beings in 2030, while also protecting the environment

Our innovations

Virtuous management of soil fertilisers

Today's food systems consume non-renewable resources and generate non-recycled waste. The development of the circular economy within these systems could improve their efficiency on several levels: economic (saving energy and materials, product recovery etc.), environmental (waste recycling and recovery, reduced groundwater and soil pollution etc.), social (empowering producers, distributors and consumers etc.), nutritional (recycling nutrients from animal waste for use as fertiliser etc.). The circular economy, therefore, is the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture. In particular, this process demands more virtuous controls of fertilisers.

"Today, fertilisers, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, are made from non-renewable resources in mines and plants that transform the nitrogen in the atmosphere. We offer farmers recycled fertilisers produced by the circular economy.”

Laurent GaltierOrganic Activity Manager, Innovation, Marketing and Industrial Performance

Recovering the phosphorous in wastewater for use in agriculture

Our Phosphogreen process recovers phosphorus from wastewater for use as a fertiliser. This is fundamental to preserve phosphate reserves, which are heading for exhaustion and constantly increasing in price. 20% of today's global demand for phosphorus could be fulfilled by recovering it from wastewater.

Developing enriched soil conditioners that meet farmers’ needs

As far as soil conditioners are concerned, returning organic matter to the soil is the best way of protecting soil quality in the long term, while reducing the use of chemical additives.

Our SUEZ Organique subsidiary has set up the TERRIAL joint venture with the Avril group to form a player in the forefront of the fertiliser and organic soil conditioner market in France.

This partnership is addressing a number of issues: how to better understand the needs of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, or how to develop the value of composts with a broader range of organic soil conditioners? It is essential to cooperate with the world of agriculture to improve soils with organic matter in the long term, while also tightening up the traceability of spreading operations.

For more information:

Watch video:

Converting agricultural waste into energy

In addition to composting, anaerobic digestion offers another means of recovering agricultural waste.
A renewable and local energy.

"We are stepping up our work with farmers to offer input for their methanation plants and to find outlets for the recovery of their by-products, such as cereal residue, maize cane, etc. in our own methanation plants."

Anne-Valérie GoulardCEO of SUEZ Organique

Organix: a unique digital marketplace

We have developed the Organix digital marketplace to enable producers of organic waste – including farmers – to contact users and methanation plant operators, who transform the waste into energy. Organix deals with a variety of flows – grape seeds, withdrawn or out-of-date food products etc. Waste producers (agricultural cooperatives, food and pharmaceutical manufacturers) can market their waste using a bidding system.