Guide to conducting a carbon footprint analysis for your farm

Editor's Note: This is a detailed guide by Yara Nagi, Director of Operations at Agritecture, to conducting a carbon footprint analysis for your controlled environment facility. With her 10+ years of experience in sustainability, environmental science, and controlled environment agriculture, Yara advises on sustainability-related matters for clients and assesses the economic viability of their projects. 

One of the methods of evaluation for the utilization of energy and its impact on the environment is a carbon footprint analysis. 

Greenhouse using Energy Screen Technology; Image sourced from Nature Fresh Farms

This refers to an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by a certain activity, i.e. heating a greenhouse throughout the year. Many companies, especially those of larger scales, conduct and report on their carbon footprints annually. The results of these assessments are usually a list of goals for the company to track against, such as a percentage of materials recycled or the percent of their energy needs sourced from renewables.

Whether a company chooses to report their footprint to the general public out of a commitment to sustainability or to fulfill regulatory requirements, internal tracking and reporting on the utilization of a farm's resources can go a long way.

Carbon footprint analyses often result in pinpointing where inefficiencies might be occurring as they relate to utility usage, which can in turn lead to financial savings in the short term or long term.

So, how do you go about calculating your carbon footprint? Agritecture has provided a simplified and summarized methodology below:

#1: Summarize the Farm's Operation and Your Objectives for this Assessment

Outline the background of the farm, including but not exclusive to the mission of the farm, site details, size of farm, method of growing, and crops produced. Include the objective of the assessment and if there is a specific challenge around energy that will be the focal point. "Generating revenue against the increased energy costs in the winter due to supplemental heating required" is an example of a challenge and focus.  

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Header Image sourced from Cambridge Consultants

Source: Agritecture