The myths around carbon standards
With a growing number of farmers looking to evaluate their carbon footprint, Trinity AgTech wants to provides some insight into the standards governing carbon and natural capital.
The carbon and natural capital space is rapidly developing and provides farmers with a real opportunity to make their businesses more profitable and sustainable. But when it comes to measuring and managing natural capital, how do you know which software to use?
According to Anna Woodley, managing director of business development, the perception that there are no standards governing carbon is a misconception that leads to confusion when choosing the correct software solution.
“The trouble with the carbon space is there are no standards, so how do we know what system to use? This is a statement I hear on an almost daily basis, but the truth is there are a number of standards designed to bring order and credibility to the natural capital space.
“While the breadth of criteria for carbon reporting does vary with different standards, there are some international ‘super standards’ which verify the methodology behind carbon footprint reporting to the highest level,” she explains
“ The truth is there are a number of standards designed to bring order and credibility to the natural capital space .“
Anna Woodley
Managing director of business development, Trinity AgTech
The standards
- IPCC 2019 Tier 2 and Tier 3 - the most demanding tiers in terms of complexity and data requirements and sometimes referred to as higher tier methods. Tier 2 and Tier 3 are generally considered to be more accurate providing that adequate data is available to apply a higher tier method.
- ISO 14064-2 - quantification, monitoring and reporting of activities intended to cause greenhouse gas emissions reductions or removal enhancements.
- ISO 14067 - the quantification and reporting of the carbon footprint of a product, and the most comprehensive standard for carbon footprint reporting available.
- Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050 - specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services. (PAS) 2050 has mostly been replaced by ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol, however some retailers are still using it as a guide.
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Standard – designed to understand, quantify, and manage greenhouse gas emissions.
- SBTi FLAG - SBTi’s forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) guidance provides the world’s first standard method for companies in land-intensive sectors to set science-based targets that include land-based emission reductions and removals. The guidance enables companies to reduce the 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions produced from agriculture, forestry and other land uses.
What does this mean for farming?
Ms Woodley says: “Although these standards are not yet mandated, businesses operating in the food supply chain are increasingly making commitments aligned to these standards in a bid to cut out greenwashing and make credible progress on Scope 3 emissions, around 70% of which sit at farm level.
“SBTi and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in particular, are two major standards that we are seeing increasing commitment to amid mounting scrutiny from investors and increasing reputational risk.”
Ms Woodley says it is a risk for farmers and the supply chain to use information from software that doesn’t monitor activities against these standards.
“We should be following the latest science to give confidence in on-farm reporting and credibly evidence our position and progress when it comes to protecting the environment.
The right tool for the job
Ms Woodley explains that Sandy is the only proven software solution that covers all farm types and sizes that is accredited to all of these international standards.
“If you are using Sandy to navigate carbon and natural capital, you can trust that you’re obtaining the most credible data possible.”
She adds: “And the high level of sophistication Sandy offers, doesn’t mean compromised usability. Sandy was built with farmers in mind, providing a user-friendly and intuitive platform that accounts for carbon as well as all other farm natural capital assets.”
Alongside carbon, Sandy contains modules for soil erosion, water quality and biodiversity.
“All of these natural capital assets have a value for farmers and should be considered holistically in conjunction with carbon.
“Co-benefits such as conservation management, increasing on-farm biodiversity, and protecting water courses can bring more to the table in terms of environmental sustainability than simply focusing on carbon emissions targets.
“Sandy is the only solution to credibly evidence these benefits alongside farm planning and financial data all in one place,” she concludes.