6 November 2009

2 minute read

Europe

Laurence Gould Partnership, on behalf of the Scottish Government, is undertaking the study to determine the best carbon footprinting tool for Scottish conditions and is aiming to pilot the chosen model across a broad range of farms representing the main farm types and sizes across Scotland.

This study gives farmers a chance to help develop the best model for Scottish farming conditions with the participants in the study receiving a full carbon footprint of their business.

NFU Scotland’s head of Rural Policy, Jonnie Hall said, “We are being constantly challenged as an industry on our role in combating climate change. In reality, the farming industry has a fantastic story to tell on the improvements it has made to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and in improving its overall efficiency. The difficulty we face is in quantifying the contribution at individual farm level.

“Many farmers already embrace a range of practical measures that have reduced the carbon footprint of their business. In order to quantify these improvements, we would like to encourage farmers to participate in the free farm-based greenhouse gas audits offered in this study. This, in turn, will help identify which of the carbon accounting tools available is best suited to assess GHG emissions on Scottish farms.

“The development of a tool that is specific to Scotland is an important step forward for all our farmers. The tool will allow producers to carry out an on farm audit and identify areas that may need to be addressed. While these areas may reduce that farm’s carbon footprint, they will also bring benefits in terms of efficiency and ultimately improve the farmer’s bottom line. This is a win, win position for farmers and the environment.”

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