This month we have launched further improvements to our Farm Carbon Calculator that enables farmers and growers to measure and understand the carbon footprint of their business.
In this upgrade there are a large number of improvements to the data and calculations that underpin the tool. This means we are up-to-date with the latest science and correspondingly your carbon reports are more accurate. We constantly aim to be reflecting the most recent emissions factors. In this upgrade we have updated factors and calculations in:
- Livestock (including new category descriptions)
- Fuels
- Distribution
- Materials
- Processing
In addition, we’ve re-ordered and updated the list of sprays, as well as a new sub-section for molluscicides. Some additional mineral amendments and specific fertilisers have been added too.
Animal feeds are a very important issue, and the impact of feeds on the footprint of livestock farms can be very significant. We’re constantly trying to improve the information available in this area and have expanded the number of items on offer. This is a continual topic of research for us.
There are some changes to how users select a report date, so that a start and end date is required (for the 12 months of the report). This is due to how our database works, which is a hidden but important area of the improvements we’ve made.
Renewable energy exports now don’t show up as a carbon offset, in line with scoping guidance provided by GHG Protocol, which is a globally recognised carbon standards organisation.
Details of all the changes can be found here, including a list of sources of our emissions factors.
Next stages
Months of research, development and testing by the Calculator team have led to this point. We are proud of what we’ve achieved, and see it as a vital improvement for users. But, more excitingly, the development continues as part of the two projects that are going to radically improve the user experience of the Calculator. This first stage of these feature upgrades will be launched in early September.
The Tesco-WWF funded work, in partnership with Produce World, focuses on improving the user experience, building infrastructure to allow carbon data to flow through the supply chain, with improved benchmarking and target setting for users, and an international version.
A parallel Innovate UK funded project, in partnership with Velcourt, CHAP and Agrimetrics, will strengthen many of the above developments, as well as enabling better data flow into and out of the Calculator. This stage of the feature upgrades will be completed at the end of December.
These are hugely exciting developments for the Farm Carbon Calculator, so expect to see much more activity from us in coming months and, importantly, a much improved tool for our users. Alongside our project partners, we are supporting the food and farming sector to cut carbon emissions and reach beyond net zero.
Resources
There are a range of resources for users of the Calculator on this page https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/resources, including the popular Data Collection Spreadsheet which gives guidance on how to complete data collection and the process of completing the report.
There are also useful FAQs and a ‘how to’ video on the Calculator homepage. You can also login to access your reports here, or set up a new account if you’re new to the Calculator https://calculator.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk/
