Sustainable Soils

What Sustainable Soils does

Sustainable Soils Alliance (SSA) is a UK-based not-for-profit community interest company (CIC 10802764) launched in October 2017 to advance sustainable soil management policy within a generation. Operating with a lean team of three key staff (Co-Executive Directors Ellen Fay and Matthew Orman, plus communications lead Tilly Kimble-Wilde), SSA functions as a convening body that bridges government, academia, farming, industry, and environmental NGOs to influence soil-related legislation, monitoring frameworks, and incentive schemes. Its core deliverables are policy research outputs (e.g., the Headline Indicator Proposal, the Minimum Requirements for High-Integrity Soil Carbon Markets report from 2022, the 2024 Soil Health Measurement and Assessment Initiatives review), evaluation frameworks (such as the Soils in Government Farm Support Schemes framework), and convening platforms including the Soil Health Industry Platform (SHIP) and a collaboration program with the British Society of Soil Science.

The organization deliberately chose a CIC structure rather than charity status to retain the ability to campaign on government policy. Revenue mechanics rely on donations, grants (including past funding from Defra's Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund), and membership support; SSA is registered with 1% for the Planet. Distribution of its outputs occurs through free website downloads, weekly newsletters (Week In Soil), parliamentary briefings and events, industry conferences (BSSS, World Congress of Soil Science), earned media coverage, and amplification via its 15+ network partners spanning universities (Sheffield, Plymouth, Aberdeen), farming bodies (NFU, NFFN, Groundswell), research institutes (UKCEH), and NGOs (Sustain, Rivers Trust, Eden Project).

Strategic positioning is anchored on shaping major UK policy milestones including the 25 Year Plan for the Environment (2018), Agriculture Act (2020), Environment Act (2021), Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme evolution, and the JNCC National Soil Health Indicators (published March 2026). All outputs are produced domestically for a single-country market (United Kingdom) and are offered without charge, with no commercial software product, no API, and no proprietary technology stack beyond its public-facing website and policy knowledge base.

Name

Sustainable Soils

Legal name

Sustainable Soils Alliance

Website

https://sustainablesoils.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UK not-for-profit community interest company launched in 2017 that designs and campaigns for sustainable soil management policy, producing research, evaluation frameworks, and convening platforms for policymakers, farmers, researchers, NGOs, and food businesses across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Policy Advocacy

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Soil policy advocacy
• Sustainable agriculture
• Environmental policy research
• Soil health monitoring
• Regenerative farming policy

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The organization is a not-for-profit community interest company (CIC 10802764) that relies on donations and membership support. They are registered with 1% for the Planet. The organization explicitly chose not to set up as a charity to allow for political campaigning activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Sustainable Soils Alliance designs and campaigns for soil-related policies in the UK, convening policy-makers, businesses, NGOs, researchers, and farmers. It produces policy research outputs, evaluation frameworks, consultation responses, and collaborative programs that advocate for the regulations, incentives, monitoring standards, and nature markets needed to protect and restore UK soils within a generation.

Product overview

Sustainable Soils Alliance is a not-for-profit community interest company focused on policy advocacy to drive sustainable soil management in the UK within a generation. Rather than a commercial software product, SSA offers a portfolio of policy research outputs, evaluation frameworks, and collaborative programs including: the Headline Indicator Proposal for soils in the 25 Year Plan, Minimum Requirements for Soil Carbon Markets, Government Scheme Evaluation Frameworks, the Soil Health Industry Platform (SHIP), and partnerships with organizations like the British Society of Soil Science. Their outputs are primarily reports, consultation responses, and advocacy materials designed to influence policy rather than commercial products or software platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthy Soils as Headline Indicator Proposal A technical proposal developed at the invitation of Defra's Chief Scientist to establish soils as a Headline Indicator in the UK government's 25 Year Plan for the Environment.
• Minimum Requirements for High-Integrity Soil Carbon Markets in the UK A report providing recommendations on minimum requirements for high-integrity soil carbon markets in the UK, developed with Defra NEIRF funding.
• Soil Health Measurement and Assessment Initiatives in the UK: A Review A comprehensive mapping exercise of the principal UK initiatives used to measure and assess on-farm soil health, covering government policies, certification schemes, and carbon calculators.
• Soils in Government Farm Support Schemes: Evaluation Framework A framework to evaluate UK government farming support schemes against indicators across four categories — Environment, Data, Economics, and Wider Policy — to assess their impact on soil health.
• Approaches to Soil Monitoring Across the Four Nations of the UK A workshop report identifying, mapping, and evaluating the readiness of soil-assessment-focused research for policy delivery across the four UK nations.
• Soil Health Industry Platform (SHIP) A platform bringing together UK food and drink businesses to address barriers to soils data collection and share insights on sustainable farming initiatives.
• Week In Soil Newsletter A regular newsletter providing SSA news, reports, and updates on soil health policy and research.
• Policy Campaigning Services Advocacy services that connect corporates, leading NGOs, government policymakers, and scientists behind common objectives to strengthen soil initiatives across the UK through collaborative research and policy initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully advocated for inclusion of soil health targets in the 25 Year Plan for the Environment (2018)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Professor Pete Smith (University of Aberdeen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2025Co-lead of the Land Use for Net Zero Hub Soil Health and Carbon Dynamics Topic Advisory Group. Provided expert commentary on Climate Change Committee's 'A Well-Adapted UK' report and soil carbon measurement challenges.
• University of SheffieldcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research expertise and collaboration on soil science and policy. The university is part of the SSA's network of academic institutions working on sustainable soil management.
• GroundswellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual regenerative farming festival that serves as a key platform for farmer engagement and knowledge exchange on soil health practices. SSA attends and provides observations from the event.
• University of PlymouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner, notably Professor Will Blake who contributes to international soil health discussions and bridging global policy gaps.
• NFU (National Farmers Union)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarming organization representing UK farmers, providing perspective on agricultural soil management challenges and opportunities within the SSA network.
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment research organization providing scientific expertise on soil and land use. Hosts workshops on soil monitoring across the four UK nations and contributes to the Land Use for Net Zero Hub.
• GS GrowerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarming business mentioned as pioneering regenerative agriculture practices and trialing incentive schemes for soil health improvement.
• Sustain (UK Food & Farming Campaign)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCampaign organization advocating for better food and farming policies, part of the SSA's network of environmental NGOs.
• Rivers TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental charity focused on river and waterway health. Soils are integral to water quality and flood mitigation, aligning with the Trust's mission.
• NFFN (Nature Friendly Farming Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of farmers committed to nature-friendly farming practices, including soil health improvement as a core principle.
• Yeo Valley OrganiccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic dairy company with commitment to sustainable farming practices, representing private sector engagement in soil health.
• Eden ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational charity and visitor attraction focused on environmental awareness and conservation, providing platform for soil health education.
• LUNZ Hub (Land Use for Net Zero, Nature and People Hub)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor initiative addressing land use challenges. SSA participates in the Soil Health and Carbon Dynamics Topic Advisory Group, contributing to national soil monitoring discussions.
• British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration to strengthen connectivity between soil research, policy development, and practical action. Includes policy-focused reflections, strategic messaging, and amplifying key themes from research for decision-makers.
• Government Departments (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkshop collaboration with policymakers from all four UK devolved administrations to map and evaluate soil-assessment-focussed research for policy delivery.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• RSPB: UK's largest nature conservation charity with a substantial policy and advocacy function. Comparable convening power and parliamentary access at far greater scale, with overlapping interest in land-use policy that affects soil.
• The Wildlife Trusts: UK-wide federation of 46 wildlife trusts with significant policy advocacy capacity and a much larger membership base. Comparable environmental advocacy model and parliamentary access, though covering a far broader conservation remit than SSA.

Direct peers

• Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming: UK umbrella alliance advocating for better food and farming policies; an existing SSA network partner. Comparable convening model, coalition-building approach, and policy advocacy orientation across overlapping stakeholder groups.
• Soil Association: UK charity promoting sustainable and organic farming with a strong soil health focus; runs the organic certification scheme and engages in policy advocacy. Closest mission-comparable organisation to SSA within the UK, although larger and operating a certification-driven revenue model.
• Green Alliance: Independent UK environmental think tank that produces policy analysis and convenes government, business, and NGOs. Comparable advocacy and thought-leadership operating model in UK environmental policy, with a broader environmental remit.
• Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN): UK farmer-led network promoting nature-friendly farming, with soil health as a core pillar. An existing SSA network partner with comparable mission overlap in sustainable soil management, particularly on the farmer-engagement side.
• Landworkers' Alliance: UK member-led union of small-scale farmers and landworkers advocating agroecological practice, including soil health. Comparable mission orientation and advocacy approach, focused on grassroots farmer voices in policy debates.
• British Society of Soil Science (BSSS): UK professional society advancing soil science with a growing policy engagement remit. Already a strategic collaboration partner of SSA, the two share the soil-specific mission space and overlapping researcher and policymaker audiences.

Emerging players

• ClientEarth: UK-headquartered environmental law charity using legal action and policy engagement to drive environmental outcomes. Comparable environmental advocacy mission, with a different primary mechanism (legal) and larger international footprint.
• Soil Health Institute: US-based non-profit focused on soil health research, measurement, and policy engagement. Closely comparable mission (soil health as a public good, measurement standards, farmer engagement), though operating in a different geography with a research-led rather than advocacy-led model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SoilsAlliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sustainable-soils-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sustainable Soils