Agrasta predicts a farm carbon audit will soon become a licence to trade

Industry estimates used to calculate Scope 3 emissions can vary by 800 percent, warns Susan Gregory, CEO of Agrasta, who recommends using audited farm-level data. The company was established to provide an online platform that helps food and beverage companies reduce Scope 3 emissions, reach net-zero targets faster and avoid unnecessary costs.

Susan explains: “We are seeing more food businesses looking, and prepared to pay a premium, for low carbon produce. If they have previously relied on industry estimates to calculate the carbon emissions from third parties – known as Scope 3 – they are likely to see an immediate reduction by moving to an audited supplier. A carbon audit for a farm will soon become a licence to trade.

10-15 percent saving on input costs

“There are a range of farm audits available, such as Agrecalc, Cool Farm Tool, Farm Carbon Toolkit and more. Many are free of charge to farmers, making this a great time to baseline farm operations. We’ve also been told that visibility of input costs can lead to savings of 10-15%. Audits can be undertaken by farmers themselves or in conjunction with a third party – a form of verification that is preferred by downstream customers.

“Agrasta research of 344 farmers shows that only 30% of farmers have baselined their farms. Of the remaining 70%, three-quarters would do an audit if there were a financial incentive to do so. Changing farm practices risks a reduction in yield and related revenue and we would strongly recommend that the food and beverage companies reward audited producers, to recognise their decarbonisation efforts and drive the adoption of Net Zero interventions through the industry.”

Agrasta has seen considerable discrepancies between estimated emissions and those calculated on-farm and is shortly to start two pilot schemes to quantify this.

“The industry is picking its way through the regulations and the metrics,” Susan continues. “But as increasing numbers of food businesses are signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and one of the first milestones is 2030, we’re seeing an urgency coming through.”

Don’t wait for ‘perfect’ carbon measuring system

There are many carbon monitoring and measurement systems available, and Susan expects there to be some consolidation in the market.

“There is a vast range, from the farm audits mentioned previously, to retailer specific appraisals, working through consultancies. There will be an element of standardisation and benchmarking will be applied. Just as software has updates and fixes, audit improvements will be implemented.

“However, I think it’s unlikely there will ever be a global standard, as food and beverage organisations already accept multiple data sources. The most important factor is to provide full transparency of information to highlight any differences or gaps in data.

“At the same time, for the NFU to meet their target of net-zero by 2040, agriculture needs to increase its annual rate of decarbonisation eightfold vs 1990-2020.

“If we wait for the perfect carbon measuring system to arrive, we’re just delaying any action to decarbonise.”