BNP Paribas Bank in Poland has launched on the Agronomist.pl platform the calculator of greenhouse gas emissions for poultry production, addressed to entrepreneurs from the agrifood sector. The tool enables self-calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from broiler chickens and turkeys. This is another real help that the Bank offers to agricultural entrepreneurs in the transformation towards a more sustainable way of farming.
Food production affects the climate
World food production generates about 1/3 of all greenhouse gas emissions related to human activity, the vast majority of which results from plant cultivation and animal husbandry. Excessive emission of greenhouse gases leads to warming our planet, which has negative effects on all life forms on Earth. To change this, agriculture around the world needs to become more sustainable and decarbonized.
“Poland is the sixth largest food producer in the European Union and has a well-developed meat industry. Reducing emissions in this sector is therefore a key task in our country. Our customers, including agricultural producers and processors, face it more and more seriously. BNP Paribas Bank, as part of its GObeyond strategy for 2022-2025, consistently works to support sustainable transformation. It offers real help by providing reliable calculation tools based on a scientific model, such as AgroEmission,” – says Michał Siwek, Director of the International Food&Agri Hub Department at the BNP Paribas Group.
The AgroEmission calculator has launched two years ago. Initially, it made it possible to calculate the level of greenhouse gas emissions for crops and dairy production. Due to the great interest of users, last year the Bank added a module for estimating the water footprint and water balance of crops on farms. In June this year, the calculation module for poultry production was activated: chicken broilers and turkeys.
How to calculate emissivity?
To use the calculator, the customer should log in to the Agronomist.pl platform. After logging in, the user can select the calculation module for the type of agricultural production for which the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions on his farm is to be made. The customer can choose plant production, dairy production (dairy cattle), and poultry (chicken broilers and turkeys). The calculation of the carbon footprint for plant production can be additionally combined with the calculation of the water footprint.
When choosing a poultry module, the users should be prepared to answer questions about farming.
Completing the form usually takes 15 to 30 minutes. The emission amount is calculated fully automatically. Finally, in addition to the clear emissivity result, a report with calculation details is generated.
Estimating the scale of emissions is the first step to introducing changes to reduce them. Simply and quickly, an agricultural producer can check the emissivity of his herd or crop and learn detailed emission data. Such an introduction is necessary to start, step by step, working out changes in the way of farming and production standards.
Carbon intensity and non-financial reporting
Sustainable, and thus also low-emission production, is a clear direction in which the entire food industry is following, at every stage of the value chain. The course of this path is outlined in the EU strategy of the European Green Deal, which sets the target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Some recommendations and requirements serve to implement these assumptions. One of them is the obligation to report on sustainable development (so-called non-financial reporting – ESG). One of the most obvious issues included in ESG reporting is the carbon footprint. The reporting obligation may indirectly also apply to farmers who supply agricultural products to large processors and retailers obliged to report ESG in the context of the entire supply chain.
Source: the Bank`s press release dated June 29, 2023
