Author: azeeadmin

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched a vulnerability disclosure program allowing ethical hackers to report security flaws to federal agencies.

The platform, launched with the help of cybersecurity companies Bugcrowd and Endyna, will allow civilian federal agencies to receive, triage and fix security vulnerabilities from the wider security community.

The move to launch the platform comes less than a year after the federal cybersecurity agency, better known as CISA, directed the civilian federal agencies that it oversees to develop and publish their own vulnerability disclosure policies. These policies are designed to set the rules of engagement for security researchers by outlining what (and how) online systems can be tested, and which can’t be.

It’s not uncommon for private companies to run VDP programs to allow hackers to report bugs, often in conjunction with a bug bounty to pay hackers for their work. The U.S. Department of Defense has for years warmed to hackers, the civilian federal government has been slow to adopt.

Bugcrowd, which last year raised $30 million at Series D, said the platform will “give agencies access to the same commercial technologies, world-class expertise, and global community of helpful ethical hackers currently used to identify security gaps for enterprise businesses.”

The platform will also help CISA share information about security flaws between other agencies.

The platform launches after a bruising few months for government cybersecurity, including a Russian-led espionage campaign against at least nine U.S. federal government agencies by hacking software house SolarWinds, and a China-linked cyberattack that backdoored thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers, including in the federal government.

Last month, Apple announced it would soon add lossless audio streaming and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to its Apple Music subscription at no extra charge. That upgrade has now gone live, Apple announced this morning — though many noticed the additions actually rolled out yesterday, following the WWDC keynote.

The entire Apple Music catalog of 75+ million songs will support lossless audio.

The lossless tier begins at CD quality — 16 bit at 44.1 kHz, and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz, Apple previously said. Audiophiles can also opt for the high-resolution lossless that goes up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. Apple has said you’ll need to use an external, USB digital-to-analog converter to take advantage of the latter — simply plugging in a pair of headphones to an iPhone won’t work.

Apple Music subscribers will be able to enable the new lossless option under Settings > Music > Audio quality. Here, you’ll be able to choose the different resolutions you want to use for different connections, including Wi-Fi, cellular, and download.

When you make your selection in Settings, iOS warns that lossless files will use “significantly more space” on your device, as 10 GB of storage would allow you to store approximately 3,000 songs at high quality, 1,000 songs with lossless, or 200 songs with high-res lossless.

Meanwhile, Spatial Audio will be enabled by default on hardware that supports Dolby Atmos, like Apple’s AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip. The latest iPhone, iPad, and Mac models also support Dolby Atmos. Spatial Audio on Apple Music will also be “coming soon” to Android devices, Apple said.

To kick off launch, Apple Music is today rolling out new playlists designed to showcase Spatial Audio. These include:

• Made for Spatial Audio
• Hits in Spatial Audio
• Rock in Spatial Audio
• Pop in Spatial Audio
• Hip-Hop in Spatial Audio
• Country in Spatial Audio
• Jazz in Spatial Audio
• Classical in Spatial Audio

Apple is also adding a special guide to Spatial Audio on Apple Music, which will help music listeners hear the difference. This will include tracks from artists like Marvin Gaye and The Weeknd, among others. And Apple will air a roundtable conversation about Spatial Audio featuring top sound engineers and experts, hosted by Zane Lowe at 9 am PT today on Apple Music.

Because songs have to be remastered for Dolby Atmos specifically, these guides and playlists will help music fans experience the new format without having to hunt around. Apple says it’s working with artists and labels to add more new releases and the best catalog tracks in Spatial Audio. To help on this front, Apple notes there are various initiatives underway — including doubling the number of Dolby-enabled studios in major markets, offering educational programs, and providing resources to independent artists.

Apple also said it will build music-authoring tools directly into Logic Pro. Later this year, the company plans to release an update to Logic Pro that will allow any musician to create and mix their songs in Spatial Audio for Apple Music.

You’d expect an expense management company to have a large sales department and advertise through all kinds of channels to maximize customer acquisition. But like we’ve seen over and over through the course of this EC-1, Expensify just doesn’t do what you think it should.

Keeping in mind this company’s propensity to just stick to its guts, it’s not much of a surprise that it got to more than $100M in annual recurring revenue and millions of users with a staff of 130, some contractors, and an almost non-existent sales team.

If you’re wondering how its possible to grow to such a level without an established sales team, the short answer is: Word of mouth. To an extent, Expensify can do this due to the space it’s in, as expense reporting is such a thankless, almost mind numbingly boring task that anyone who found a good solution is bound to recommend it to their colleagues and friends.

But it’s more interesting how Expensify grows bottom-up within SMBs, its core customer base. By providing an easy and meaningful experience via the product itself, the company has come to a point where it only takes one or two users who love the service to turn their company into customers.

This approach flips the traditional sales model on its head and is now known as product-led growth, but Expensify did it long before it was an accepted business model. Though that was harder than it sounds, it also put the company in a uniquely privileged position, which it is fully intent on leveraging.

Starting the flywheel

There are many ways to get such a business model started, but as usual, Expensify threw caution and all advice out the window and banked on turning its users into evangelizers for its product.

Google is ditching a massively unpopular auction format that underpins an choice screen it offers in the European Union, it said today. Eligible search providers will be able to freely participate.

The auction model was Google’s ‘remedy’ of choice — following the 2018 EU $5BN antitrust enforcement against Android — but rivals have always maintained it’s anything but fair, as we’ve reported previously (here, here, here, for eg).

The Android choice screen presents users in the region with a selection of search engines to choose as a default at the point of device set up (or factory reset). The offered choices depend on sealed bids made by search engine companies bidding to pay Google to win one of three available slots.

Google’s own search engine is a staple ‘choice’ on the screen regardless of EU market.

The pay-to-play model Google devised is not only loudly hated by smaller search engine players (including those with alternative business models, such as the Ecosia tree-planting search engine), but it been entirely ineffectual at restoring competitive balance in search marketshare so it’s not surprising Google has been forced to ditch it.

The Commission had signalled a change might be coming, with Bloomberg reporting in May remarks by the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vesager, that it was “actively working on making” Google’s Android choice screen for search and browser rivals work. So it evidently heard the repeated cries of ‘foul’ and ‘it’s not working, yo!’. And — finally — it acted.

However, framing its own narrative, Google writes that it’s been in “constructive discussions” with EU lawmakers for years about “how to promote even more choice on Android devices, while ensuring that we can continue to invest in, and provide, the Android platform for free for the long term”, as it puts it.

It also seems to be trying to throw some shade/blame back at the EU — writing that it only introduced what it calls a “promotional opportunity” (lol) “in consultation with the Commission”. (Ergo, ‘don’t blame us gov, blame them!’)

In another detail-light paragraph of its blog, Google says it’s now making “some final changes” — including making participation free for “eligible search providers” — after what it describes as “further feedback from the Commission”

“We will also be increasing the number of search providers shown on the screen. These changes will come into effect from September this year on Android devices,” it adds.

The planned changes raise new questions — such as what criteria it will be using to determine eligibility; and will Google’s criteria be transparent or, like the problematic auction, sealed from view? And how many search engines will be presented to users? More than the current four, that’s clear.

Where Google’s own search engine will appear in the list will also be very interesting to see, as well as the criteria for ranking all the options (marketshare? random allocation?).

Google’s blog is mealy mouthed on any/all such detail — but the Commission gave us a pretty good glimpse when we asked (see their comment below).

It still remains to seen whether any other devilish dark pattern design details will appear when we see the full implementation.

But it’s worth noting that it’s not in Google’s gift to claim these changes are “final”. EU regulators are responsible for monitoring antitrust compliance — so if fresh complaints flow they will be duty bound to listen and react.

In one response to Google’s auction U-turn, pro-privacy search player DuckDuckGo was already critical — but more on the scope than the detail.

Founder Gabriel Weinberg pointed out that not only is the switch three years too late but Google should also be applying it across all platforms (desktop and Chrome too), as well as making it seamlessly easy for Android users to switch default, rather than gating the choice screen to set-up and/or factory reset (as we’ve reported before).

Another long-time critic of the auction model, tiny not-for-profit Ecosia, was jubilant that its fight against the search behemonth has finally paid off.

Commenting in a statement, CEO Christian Kroll said: “This is a real life David versus Goliath story — and David has won. This is a momentous day, and a real moment of celebration for Ecosia. We’ve campaigned for fairness in the search engine market for several years, and with this, we have something that resembles a level playing field in the market. Search providers now have a chance to compete more fairly in the Android market, based on the appeal of their product, rather than being shut out by monopolistic behaviour.”

The Commission, meanwhile, confirmed to TechCrunch that it acted after a number of competitors raised concerns over the auction model — with a spokeswoman saying it had “discussed with Google means to improve that choice screen to address those concerns”.

“We welcome the changes introduced by Google to the choice screen. Being included on the choice screen will now be free for rival search providers,” she went on. “In addition, more search providers will be included in the choice screen. Therefore, users will have even more opportunities to choose an alternative.”

The Commission also offered a little more detail of how the choice screen will look come fall, saying that “on almost all devices, five search providers will be immediately visible”.

“They will be selected based on their market share in the user’s country and displayed in a randomised order which ensures that Google will not always be the first. Users will be able to scroll down to see up to seven more search providers, bringing the total search providers displayed in the choice screen to 12.”

“These are positive developments for the implementation of the remedy following our Android decision,” the spokeswoman added.

So it will certainly be very interesting indeed to see whether this Commission-reconfigured much bigger and more open choice screen helps move the regional need on Google’s search engine market share.

Interesting times indeed!

What’s the top-rated hotel in New York City? According to Tripadvisor users, it’s Mint House at 70 Pine, and it’s easy to see why as you click through the photos. Throughout NYC, hotel rooms are essentially bento boxes, carefully constructed to contain all the necessary bits. But not Mint House rooms. Mint House rooms are virtually complete apartments, and travelers have taken notice.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Mint House operates, and as the world starts to reopen, the company is well-positioned to serve business and pleasure travelers alike.

Mint House launched in 2017 and raised $15M in 2019 as it expanded its offering. At the time Tige Savage, Revolution Venture managing partner and Mint House investor, described the company like this: “Mint House is the best of a hotel without the worst of a hotel and the best of an Airbnb without the worst of an Airbnb.”

The company is different from traditional hotels by offering products more similar to those rented by Airbnb, but while still offering similar features as a hotel. Another company called Lyric tried to walk this line, too, and raised $150m before ultimately shutting down.

Initially, Mint House targeted business travelers in secondary markets (read: not New York City). Pre-COVID Mint House rooms were primarily available in Indianapolis, Denver, Nashville, Miami, and Detroit. Mint House CEO Will Lucas explained at the time that there were opportunities in these markets as often accommodations are worse than in major markets.

COVID changed Mint House’s trajectory, Lucas explained in an interview with TechCrunch. At the beginning of the pandemic, the hospitality industry fell off. Mint House saw occupancy rates fall from 60% to single digits, and Mint House had to refund customers and furlough employees. Eventually, through new sales team members, Mint House discovered their product offering was well suited for the pandemic. Displaced workers needed a place to live and work. Traveling healthcare professionals needed a home away from home. Some university students were shut out of student housing but still required to attend school. Mint House’s apartment-like rooms presented a compelling alternative to a traditional hotel room where kitchens are often, at most, just an instant coffee pot and a mini-fridge. But with Mint House rooms, guests have in-room kitchens, living space, and recently rising in importance, an actual workspace.

As the pandemic settled in, Mint House saw a drastic change in length of stay. Before COVID-19, the average stay length was four nights. During COVID-19, the average stay length was 21 nights as the needs for travelers shifted. Instead of flying in for a quick meeting, workers and travelers needed a place to hunker down and work remotely. During the height of the pandemic, 81% of Mint House guests were working remotely.

Mint House’s key features seem purpose-built for social distancing, but they were in place before the pandemic. Guests do not have to check in with a front desk and there are no key cards. Guests can order groceries, and the room will be stocked before arrival — a service rarely found outside of business-centric hotels but now in demand even with leisure travelers too. Customer service for all of the properties is centralized, too.

While most of the hospitality industry languished throughout 2020, Mint House saw terrific growth. Several months into the pandemic, Mint House saw occupancy rates hit new highs. By June, 84% of Mint House’s rooms were booked, and the company averaged 80% over the rest of 2020. The company doubled down and grew its portfolio by over 50% in the last half of 2020, too.

Today, nearly a year after the bottom fell out, Mint House is in 24 buildings in 13 markets.

In New York City, Mint House is competing with giants. CEO Lucas explains.

“This year, in New York City, we have been earning on average 2.2x the RevPAR (revenue per available room),” he said. “Our CompSet (Competitive set, or rather, competing hotels) is incredibly formidable competition that includes two Thompson hotels, three Marriott Hotels, and Hilton Hotels. We are number one in occupancy, number one in ADR (Average Daily Rate), and putting them together, we’re more than double the CompSet.”

Lucas believes these rankings show Mint House’s strengths and how the company is different from traditional hospitality brands. And yet, Mint House turned to executives from classic hospitality brands to fuel growth.

Mint House recently announced the addition of several new executives. Jim Mrha, who previously worked at Domio, Hilton, MGM Hospitality, and Marriott, will serve as Mint House’s CFO. Paul Sacco, a former investment officer and executive at TPG Hotels & Resorts and Starwood, joined Mint House as Chief Development Officer. Jess Berkin, another former hospitality executive of the travel e-commerce startup Porter & Sail, is Mint House’s new marketing and communication executive.

“It feels like we’re about to really blast off,” Lucas said with a bit of pride.

Mint House is engaged in an aggressive growth strategy just as the world is set to reopen. The company is looking to double the number of available units and go international, starting with London in a month and eventually in South America.

Now, halfway through 2021, the pandemic is receding, and travel is starting to change again. Mint House is seeing the average stay drop back down from 21 nights in 2020 to something around six nights. According to Lucas, leisure travelers are increasing, and Mint House is seeing the return of short business stays. And then there’s the new type of business traveler who leaves behind their home office to work remotely from somewhere new, like Miami.

Mint House straddles an interesting line between hotels and short-term rentals like those offered by Airbnb. On one side, they offer the convenience and trust found in a hotel with the style and comfort of a short-term rental. If the company can execute its plan and its recent executive hires should help, the company is well suited to compete with the Hilton and Marriotts in NYC and throughout the States and world.

What’s the top-rated hotel in New York City? According to Tripadvisor users, it’s Mint House at 70 Pine, and it’s easy to see why as you click through the photos. Throughout NYC, hotel rooms are essentially bento boxes, carefully constructed to contain all the necessary bits. But not Mint House rooms. Mint House rooms are virtually complete apartments, and travelers have taken notice.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Mint House operates, and as the world starts to reopen, the company is well-positioned to serve business and pleasure travelers alike.

Mint House launched in 2017 and raised $15M in 2019 as it expanded its offering. At the time Tige Savage, Revolution Venture managing partner and Mint House investor, described the company like this: “Mint House is the best of a hotel without the worst of a hotel and the best of an Airbnb without the worst of an Airbnb.”

The company is different from traditional hotels by offering products more similar to those rented by Airbnb, but while still offering similar features as a hotel. Another company called Lyric tried to walk this line, too, and raised $150m before ultimately shutting down.

Initially, Mint House targeted business travelers in secondary markets (read: not New York City). Pre-COVID Mint House rooms were primarily available in Indianapolis, Denver, Nashville, Miami, and Detroit. Mint House CEO Will Lucas explained at the time that there were opportunities in these markets as often accommodations are worse than in major markets.

COVID changed Mint House’s trajectory, Lucas explained in an interview with TechCrunch. At the beginning of the pandemic, the hospitality industry fell off. Mint House saw occupancy rates fall from 60% to single digits, and Mint House had to refund customers and furlough employees. Eventually, through new sales team members, Mint House discovered their product offering was well suited for the pandemic. Displaced workers needed a place to live and work. Traveling healthcare professionals needed a home away from home. Some university students were shut out of student housing but still required to attend school. Mint House’s apartment-like rooms presented a compelling alternative to a traditional hotel room where kitchens are often, at most, just an instant coffee pot and a mini-fridge. But with Mint House rooms, guests have in-room kitchens, living space, and recently rising in importance, an actual workspace.

As the pandemic settled in, Mint House saw a drastic change in length of stay. Before COVID-19, the average stay length was four nights. During COVID-19, the average stay length was 21 nights as the needs for travelers shifted. Instead of flying in for a quick meeting, workers and travelers needed a place to hunker down and work remotely. During the height of the pandemic, 81% of Mint House guests were working remotely.

Mint House’s key features seem purpose-built for social distancing, but they were in place before the pandemic. Guests do not have to check in with a front desk and there are no key cards. Guests can order groceries, and the room will be stocked before arrival — a service rarely found outside of business-centric hotels but now in demand even with leisure travelers too. Customer service for all of the properties is centralized, too.

While most of the hospitality industry languished throughout 2020, Mint House saw terrific growth. Several months into the pandemic, Mint House saw occupancy rates hit new highs. By June, 84% of Mint House’s rooms were booked, and the company averaged 80% over the rest of 2020. The company doubled down and grew its portfolio by over 50% in the last half of 2020, too.

Today, nearly a year after the bottom fell out, Mint House is in 24 buildings in 13 markets.

In New York City, Mint House is competing with giants. CEO Lucas explains.

“This year, in New York City, we have been earning on average 2.2x the RevPAR (revenue per available room),” he said. “Our CompSet (Competitive set, or rather, competing hotels) is incredibly formidable competition that includes two Thompson hotels, three Marriott Hotels, and Hilton Hotels. We are number one in occupancy, number one in ADR (Average Daily Rate), and putting them together, we’re more than double the CompSet.”

Lucas believes these rankings show Mint House’s strengths and how the company is different from traditional hospitality brands. And yet, Mint House turned to executives from classic hospitality brands to fuel growth.

Mint House recently announced the addition of several new executives. Jim Mrha, who previously worked at Domio, Hilton, MGM Hospitality, and Marriott, will serve as Mint House’s CFO. Paul Sacco, a former investment officer and executive at TPG Hotels & Resorts and Starwood, joined Mint House as Chief Development Officer. Jess Berkin, another former hospitality executive of the travel e-commerce startup Porter & Sail, is Mint House’s new marketing and communication executive.

“It feels like we’re about to really blast off,” Lucas said with a bit of pride.

Mint House is engaged in an aggressive growth strategy just as the world is set to reopen. The company is looking to double the number of available units and go international, starting with London in a month and eventually in South America.

Now, halfway through 2021, the pandemic is receding, and travel is starting to change again. Mint House is seeing the average stay drop back down from 21 nights in 2020 to something around six nights. According to Lucas, leisure travelers are increasing, and Mint House is seeing the return of short business stays. And then there’s the new type of business traveler who leaves behind their home office to work remotely from somewhere new, like Miami.

Mint House straddles an interesting line between hotels and short-term rentals like those offered by Airbnb. On one side, they offer the convenience and trust found in a hotel with the style and comfort of a short-term rental. If the company can execute its plan and its recent executive hires should help, the company is well suited to compete with the Hilton and Marriotts in NYC and throughout the States and world.

What’s the top-rated hotel in New York City? According to Tripadvisor users, it’s Mint House at 70 Pine, and it’s easy to see why as you click through the photos. Throughout NYC, hotel rooms are essentially bento boxes, carefully constructed to contain all the necessary bits. But not Mint House rooms. Mint House rooms are virtually complete apartments, and travelers have taken notice.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Mint House operates, and as the world starts to reopen, the company is well-positioned to serve business and pleasure travelers alike.

Mint House launched in 2017 and raised $15M in 2019 as it expanded its offering. At the time Tige Savage, Revolution Venture managing partner and Mint House investor, described the company like this: “Mint House is the best of a hotel without the worst of a hotel and the best of an Airbnb without the worst of an Airbnb.”

The company is different from traditional hotels by offering products more similar to those rented by Airbnb, but while still offering similar features as a hotel. Another company called Lyric tried to walk this line, too, and raised $150m before ultimately shutting down.

Initially, Mint House targeted business travelers in secondary markets (read: not New York City). Pre-COVID Mint House rooms were primarily available in Indianapolis, Denver, Nashville, Miami, and Detroit. Mint House CEO Will Lucas explained at the time that there were opportunities in these markets as often accommodations are worse than in major markets.

COVID changed Mint House’s trajectory, Lucas explained in an interview with TechCrunch. At the beginning of the pandemic, the hospitality industry fell off. Mint House saw occupancy rates fall from 60% to single digits, and Mint House had to refund customers and furlough employees. Eventually, through new sales team members, Mint House discovered their product offering was well suited for the pandemic. Displaced workers needed a place to live and work. Traveling healthcare professionals needed a home away from home. Some university students were shut out of student housing but still required to attend school. Mint House’s apartment-like rooms presented a compelling alternative to a traditional hotel room where kitchens are often, at most, just an instant coffee pot and a mini-fridge. But with Mint House rooms, guests have in-room kitchens, living space, and recently rising in importance, an actual workspace.

As the pandemic settled in, Mint House saw a drastic change in length of stay. Before COVID-19, the average stay length was four nights. During COVID-19, the average stay length was 21 nights as the needs for travelers shifted. Instead of flying in for a quick meeting, workers and travelers needed a place to hunker down and work remotely. During the height of the pandemic, 81% of Mint House guests were working remotely.

Mint House’s key features seem purpose-built for social distancing, but they were in place before the pandemic. Guests do not have to check in with a front desk and there are no key cards. Guests can order groceries, and the room will be stocked before arrival — a service rarely found outside of business-centric hotels but now in demand even with leisure travelers too. Customer service for all of the properties is centralized, too.

While most of the hospitality industry languished throughout 2020, Mint House saw terrific growth. Several months into the pandemic, Mint House saw occupancy rates hit new highs. By June, 84% of Mint House’s rooms were booked, and the company averaged 80% over the rest of 2020. The company doubled down and grew its portfolio by over 50% in the last half of 2020, too.

Today, nearly a year after the bottom fell out, Mint House is in 24 buildings in 13 markets.

In New York City, Mint House is competing with giants. CEO Lucas explains.

“This year, in New York City, we have been earning on average 2.2x the RevPAR (revenue per available room),” he said. “Our CompSet (Competitive set, or rather, competing hotels) is incredibly formidable competition that includes two Thompson hotels, three Marriott Hotels, and Hilton Hotels. We are number one in occupancy, number one in ADR (Average Daily Rate), and putting them together, we’re more than double the CompSet.”

Lucas believes these rankings show Mint House’s strengths and how the company is different from traditional hospitality brands. And yet, Mint House turned to executives from classic hospitality brands to fuel growth.

Mint House recently announced the addition of several new executives. Jim Mrha, who previously worked at Domio, Hilton, MGM Hospitality, and Marriott, will serve as Mint House’s CFO. Paul Sacco, a former investment officer and executive at TPG Hotels & Resorts and Starwood, joined Mint House as Chief Development Officer. Jess Berkin, another former hospitality executive of the travel e-commerce startup Porter & Sail, is Mint House’s new marketing and communication executive.

“It feels like we’re about to really blast off,” Lucas said with a bit of pride.

Mint House is engaged in an aggressive growth strategy just as the world is set to reopen. The company is looking to double the number of available units and go international, starting with London in a month and eventually in South America.

Now, halfway through 2021, the pandemic is receding, and travel is starting to change again. Mint House is seeing the average stay drop back down from 21 nights in 2020 to something around six nights. According to Lucas, leisure travelers are increasing, and Mint House is seeing the return of short business stays. And then there’s the new type of business traveler who leaves behind their home office to work remotely from somewhere new, like Miami.

Mint House straddles an interesting line between hotels and short-term rentals like those offered by Airbnb. On one side, they offer the convenience and trust found in a hotel with the style and comfort of a short-term rental. If the company can execute its plan and its recent executive hires should help, the company is well suited to compete with the Hilton and Marriotts in NYC and throughout the States and world.

When it comes to sustainable livestock production and agriculture, measurement is the first — and sometimes most elusive — step in the process of turning our food system from a carbon emitter into a carbon sink.

So DSM, a science-based company that focuses on agriculture and other parts of our food systems, and Blonk, a data analytics for sustainability consultancy, developed Sustell, a combination software and practical service for ranchers to understand and improve the sustainability of their operations.

While sustainable and regenerative agriculture doesn’t have a universally agreed-upon definition, it usually involves changing land management practices to sequester more carbon in the soil, using more environmentally friendly animal feeds and reducing fossil fuel usage of tractors and other farm equipment among many other changes. The goal is to reduce the 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, about 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, created by the livestock industry.  

“There’s this tremendous need for accurate footprinting of animal production down to the individual farm level,” said David Nickell, vice president of sustainability and business solutions at DSM. “And each farm, of course, is very different. And you have to have a system which is able to use actual farm data, and to get an accurate picture of that particular farm.” 

The system analyzes the environmental impact of a farm’s activity on 19 different categories, including climate change, resource use, water scarcity, runoff and ozone depletion. Farmers provide data on their daily operations, including feed composition and use, manure management practices, animal mortality, the electricity system and the other infrastructure, transportation logistics and mitigation technologies employed, like scrubbers or excess heat circulation systems, and sometimes packaging to the software.

Blonk’s environmental footprint technology then produces a life cycle assessment of the farm, an analysis of the environmental impact of rearing an animal from inception to when it exits the farm gate. DSM and Blonk have created Sustell modules for most land farm animals, including chickens, pigs and dairy and egg production, and plans to extend it to cover beef and aquaculture. 

“What is really key is that we were able to build on this momentum of methodologies and standards that have been developed,” said Hans Blonk, CEO of Blonk Consultants and Blonk Sustainability Tools. 

Blonk was able to combine agriculture environmental standards from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, European Commission and many others in one place to create the vast library of background data needed for the software to produce useful and actionable insights.   

“Customers at the moment really want to understand what they’re doing,” Nickell said. “They want to understand their baseline [footprint] and rank them. Understand what’s good, and what’s not so good. Customers want to understand how they rate compared to peer benchmarking, whether it’s a country or an industry benchmark.”

Once the Sustell software gives farmers clarity on the emissions on their farms, they can then identify where improvements need to be made and DSM helps implement ways of reducing those emissions, creating an end-to-end service for customers and hopefully a positive impact on the planet. 

“Practical interventions make change happen,” Nickell said. “We’ve invested in technologies which reduce the footprint of animal products production. The service is measurement and marry that up with bringing solutions, which make a difference. That’s the complete solution to making this much-needed change happen.”

But in order for Sustell to create that change, it needs to be adopted widely and the learnings need to be shared between competitors. Right now, DSM and, in some ways, the capitalist system, isn’t set up for that. 

According to Nickell, DSM is first focusing Sustell on big integrated livestock companies. This is a common challenge with new innovative environmental technologies that can be adopted by big farming conglomerates or co-ops with money and resources to spend, while smaller family farms get left behind. But Nickell hopes that Sustell can scale to work with smaller farms, as well. 

The second issue is around data sharing. While Nickell was very clear that Sustell will be following all applicable data privacy and ownership rules — and that’s usually a good thing — in order to really create meaningful environmental change, transparency is actually key. Competitors need to share the best ways for reducing emissions so everyone can adopt them and save the planet, but many companies are very data protective. 

“I think maybe that [data sharing] develops in time,” Nickell said. “I don’t think we’re there yet. Maybe it will get to that level as more and more customers are transparent on their footprint and their reporting.”

When it comes to sustainable livestock production and agriculture, measurement is the first — and sometimes most elusive — step in the process of turning our food system from a carbon emitter into a carbon sink.

So DSM, a science-based company that focuses on agriculture and other parts of our food systems, and Blonk, a data analytics for sustainability consultancy, developed Sustell, a combination software and practical service for ranchers to understand and improve the sustainability of their operations.

While sustainable and regenerative agriculture doesn’t have a universally agreed-upon definition, it usually involves changing land management practices to sequester more carbon in the soil, using more environmentally friendly animal feeds and reducing fossil fuel usage of tractors and other farm equipment among many other changes. The goal is to reduce the 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, about 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, created by the livestock industry.  

“There’s this tremendous need for accurate footprinting of animal production down to the individual farm level,” said David Nickell, vice president of sustainability and business solutions at DSM. “And each farm, of course, is very different. And you have to have a system which is able to use actual farm data, and to get an accurate picture of that particular farm.” 

The system analyzes the environmental impact of a farm’s activity on 19 different categories, including climate change, resource use, water scarcity, runoff and ozone depletion. Farmers provide data on their daily operations, including feed composition and use, manure management practices, animal mortality, the electricity system and the other infrastructure, transportation logistics and mitigation technologies employed, like scrubbers or excess heat circulation systems, and sometimes packaging to the software.

Blonk’s environmental footprint technology then produces a life cycle assessment of the farm, an analysis of the environmental impact of rearing an animal from inception to when it exits the farm gate. DSM and Blonk have created Sustell modules for most land farm animals, including chickens, pigs and dairy and egg production, and plans to extend it to cover beef and aquaculture. 

“What is really key is that we were able to build on this momentum of methodologies and standards that have been developed,” said Hans Blonk, CEO of Blonk Consultants and Blonk Sustainability Tools. 

Blonk was able to combine agriculture environmental standards from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, European Commission and many others in one place to create the vast library of background data needed for the software to produce useful and actionable insights.   

“Customers at the moment really want to understand what they’re doing,” Nickell said. “They want to understand their baseline [footprint] and rank them. Understand what’s good, and what’s not so good. Customers want to understand how they rate compared to peer benchmarking, whether it’s a country or an industry benchmark.”

Once the Sustell software gives farmers clarity on the emissions on their farms, they can then identify where improvements need to be made and DSM helps implement ways of reducing those emissions, creating an end-to-end service for customers and hopefully a positive impact on the planet. 

“Practical interventions make change happen,” Nickell said. “We’ve invested in technologies which reduce the footprint of animal products production. The service is measurement and marry that up with bringing solutions, which make a difference. That’s the complete solution to making this much-needed change happen.”

But in order for Sustell to create that change, it needs to be adopted widely and the learnings need to be shared between competitors. Right now, DSM and, in some ways, the capitalist system, isn’t set up for that. 

According to Nickell, DSM is first focusing Sustell on big integrated livestock companies. This is a common challenge with new innovative environmental technologies that can be adopted by big farming conglomerates or co-ops with money and resources to spend, while smaller family farms get left behind. But Nickell hopes that Sustell can scale to work with smaller farms, as well. 

The second issue is around data sharing. While Nickell was very clear that Sustell will be following all applicable data privacy and ownership rules — and that’s usually a good thing — in order to really create meaningful environmental change, transparency is actually key. Competitors need to share the best ways for reducing emissions so everyone can adopt them and save the planet, but many companies are very data protective. 

“I think maybe that [data sharing] develops in time,” Nickell said. “I don’t think we’re there yet. Maybe it will get to that level as more and more customers are transparent on their footprint and their reporting.”

When it comes to sustainable livestock production and agriculture, measurement is the first — and sometimes most elusive — step in the process of turning our food system from a carbon emitter into a carbon sink.

So DSM, a science-based company that focuses on agriculture and other parts of our food systems, and Blonk, a data analytics for sustainability consultancy, developed Sustell, a combination software and practical service for ranchers to understand and improve the sustainability of their operations.

While sustainable and regenerative agriculture doesn’t have a universally agreed-upon definition, it usually involves changing land management practices to sequester more carbon in the soil, using more environmentally friendly animal feeds and reducing fossil fuel usage of tractors and other farm equipment among many other changes. The goal is to reduce the 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, about 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, created by the livestock industry.  

“There’s this tremendous need for accurate footprinting of animal production down to the individual farm level,” said David Nickell, vice president of sustainability and business solutions at DSM. “And each farm, of course, is very different. And you have to have a system which is able to use actual farm data, and to get an accurate picture of that particular farm.” 

The system analyzes the environmental impact of a farm’s activity on 19 different categories, including climate change, resource use, water scarcity, runoff and ozone depletion. Farmers provide data on their daily operations, including feed composition and use, manure management practices, animal mortality, the electricity system and the other infrastructure, transportation logistics and mitigation technologies employed, like scrubbers or excess heat circulation systems, and sometimes packaging to the software.

Blonk’s environmental footprint technology then produces a life cycle assessment of the farm, an analysis of the environmental impact of rearing an animal from inception to when it exits the farm gate. DSM and Blonk have created Sustell modules for most land farm animals, including chickens, pigs and dairy and egg production, and plans to extend it to cover beef and aquaculture. 

“What is really key is that we were able to build on this momentum of methodologies and standards that have been developed,” said Hans Blonk, CEO of Blonk Consultants and Blonk Sustainability Tools. 

Blonk was able to combine agriculture environmental standards from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, European Commission and many others in one place to create the vast library of background data needed for the software to produce useful and actionable insights.   

“Customers at the moment really want to understand what they’re doing,” Nickell said. “They want to understand their baseline [footprint] and rank them. Understand what’s good, and what’s not so good. Customers want to understand how they rate compared to peer benchmarking, whether it’s a country or an industry benchmark.”

Once the Sustell software gives farmers clarity on the emissions on their farms, they can then identify where improvements need to be made and DSM helps implement ways of reducing those emissions, creating an end-to-end service for customers and hopefully a positive impact on the planet. 

“Practical interventions make change happen,” Nickell said. “We’ve invested in technologies which reduce the footprint of animal products production. The service is measurement and marry that up with bringing solutions, which make a difference. That’s the complete solution to making this much-needed change happen.”

But in order for Sustell to create that change, it needs to be adopted widely and the learnings need to be shared between competitors. Right now, DSM and, in some ways, the capitalist system, isn’t set up for that. 

According to Nickell, DSM is first focusing Sustell on big integrated livestock companies. This is a common challenge with new innovative environmental technologies that can be adopted by big farming conglomerates or co-ops with money and resources to spend, while smaller family farms get left behind. But Nickell hopes that Sustell can scale to work with smaller farms, as well. 

The second issue is around data sharing. While Nickell was very clear that Sustell will be following all applicable data privacy and ownership rules — and that’s usually a good thing — in order to really create meaningful environmental change, transparency is actually key. Competitors need to share the best ways for reducing emissions so everyone can adopt them and save the planet, but many companies are very data protective. 

“I think maybe that [data sharing] develops in time,” Nickell said. “I don’t think we’re there yet. Maybe it will get to that level as more and more customers are transparent on their footprint and their reporting.”