CEA growers to improve energy and water use

Added on 13 March 2023

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CEA growers to improve energy and water use

Resource Innovation Institute (RII), a not-for-profit energy and water benchmarking organization providing resource efficiency best practices for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) producers, is joining forces with FarmTech Society, an international non-profit sectoral association that unites and supports the CEA industry through generating awareness of resource efficiency benchmarking, shaping standards and policy, and focusing on workforce development.

“As a global industry, CEA is increasingly facing the pressures of rising energy prices and water shortages,” says Derek Smith, Executive Director of Resource Innovation Institute. “Working together, RII and FarmTech Society will focus on the importance of benchmarking in demonstrating the climate-smart value of greenhouse and indoor farming. It all comes down to the quality of the data, and with this partnership we are bringing together two organizations who are dedicated to this critical effort.”

Data collection that is representative of CEA facilities in operation, including those with different crops, growing styles, and climate zones, is vital to create a complete snapshot of CEA practices and benefits. Utilizing the collective resources and knowledge of each organization, the collaboration between RII and FarmTech Society will build on the USDA-sponsored benchmarking featured in the Conservation Innovation Grant titled “Data-Driven Market Transformation for Efficient CEA” and the EU Green Deal Infrastructure Strategy. With these initiatives, the two organizations will be advocating for global benchmarking standards in controlled environment agriculture.