Understanding the "basics of emissions" is becoming increasingly important for Australia's farmers as the sector faces growing expectations to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farm, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.
In a new guide produced for its farming clients, Cultivating clarity in Australian agriculture: Making sense of supply chain emissions targets on-farm, by the bank's RaboResearch arm, Rabobank says as large corporations – including food and agribusiness companies – become more active in managing climate impact across their full supply chain, this is expected to have increasing market access implications for farmers.
"As these expectations start to flow back towards farm level, understanding the basic concepts around emissions measurement – including the different scopes of emissions, what a farm's greenhouse gas footprint is made up of and the significance of key emissions metrics – is becoming important in preparing farmers for these fast-approaching changes," says report author, RaboResearch sustainability analyst Anna Drake.
Ms Drake said many farmers reported feeling confusion and uncertainty when it came to the topic of GHG emissions.
"This includes how to measure and reduce emissions and why this is likely to be relevant to their business," she said.
Ms Drake said the guide was designed to provide the bank's clients with a foundational overview on the topic of emissions as it relates to agricultural supply chains and the expected impacts on farmers.
"With growing focus on emissions in agriculture and the widespread introduction of company emissions reduction targets that include on-farm emissions, it is important farmers are well informed so they can best position themselves to respond to changes ahead, including potential future market access impacts," she said.
In particular, Ms Drake said, the report was designed as a farmer's guide to navigating corporate emissions reporting and supply chain commitments.
It examines emissions in agriculture from three perspectives: market and supply chain, farm and global.
Market and supply chain
The report says "corporates are facing pressure from multiple directions to integrate climate impact management across their supply chain into their business activities and planning".
"And for many companies active in agricultural supply chains, farming-related emissions make up the biggest part of the emissions footprint of the products they sell," Ms Drake said.
"GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions data – including farm-level emissions – is likely to be factored into the purchasing decisions made by key corporates in food and agricultural supply chains as they look to purchase products that contribute to their emissions reduction targets."
Farm
The report says at farm level, measuring the emissions "footprint" of their farming operations – calculated using purpose-designed modelling tools – can provide farmers with a starting point to engage with the supply chain on GHG emissions and to weigh up their reduction options.
Ms Drake said measuring "emissions intensity" was a key metric for supply chains as it enabled them to understand the emissions produced relative to a unit of product.
"Reducing emissions intensity is strongly connected to improving efficiency and productivity, and is essentially about doing more with less emissions," she said. "For example, this could involve achieving heavier sale weights for stock over the same period as previously achieved, effectively spreading the emissions over a larger product quantity."
Global
From a global perspective, the report says, with agriculture estimated to account for approximately 21 per cent of world GHG emissions, the sector is seen to have a vital role in contributing to emissions-reduction objectives while simultaneously meeting growing global demand for food.
"Addressing both future global food demand and GHG emissions mitigation requirements would require global food production and consumption to become significantly more carbon efficient," Ms Drake said.
"The need for agriculture globally to reduce emissions does not exist in a vacuum, but as part of a food system that is critical for economic development and meeting the nutritional needs of the world's populations."
Rabobank Australia chief sustainability officer Alison Osborne said the guide was part of Rabobank's broader approach to support clients with knowledge and information about sustainability-related topics.
The bank has also supported more than 1300 farming clients through 70 carbon workshops in collaboration with the University of Melbourne. These workshops are designed to help farmers build knowledge on the basics of farm emissions, including the science, global policy and how emissions relate to farming operations.
Ms Osborne said Rabobank was also engaging with emissions platform Ruminati to pilot its online farm emissions calculator designed to make the process of baselining farm emissions quicker and easier.
"These initiatives are part of a broader program of empowering clients to be future ready. Our approach is to work with clients to help them realise their long-term business goals, taking into account the global context in which we all now operate. The initiatives are aimed at supporting farming clients with the information they need to help them make good decisions and capitalise on emerging opportunities" she said.
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