The user base of the Carbo® Farm calculator, which has been used by Valio dairy farms since 2019, is expanding. Now, in addition to Valio, Juustoportti milk producers as well as Atria, HKFoods and Snellman cattle farms can use the Carbo® Farm calculator to determine the carbon footprint of their production in Finland. As a result of the extensive cooperation, the calculation will cover around 90% of the Finnish milk and meat sector and will help milk and meat producers reduce emissions from their operations. The calculation model is certified by Carbon Trust.
The Carbo® Farm calculator is an environmental impact assessment tool developed for the Finnish milk and meat sector. The Carbo® Farm calculator was originally developed by Valio to enable dairy farms to calculate their carbon footprint; now, with further development, it is helping also cattle farms to determine the emissions from their operations and the impacts on acidification and eutrophication. At the same time, it gives farms the most efficient means to reduce emissions.
“The calculator is based on the most accurate calculation method of the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) and has been developed specifically for the Finnish climate and conditions. This means that it takes into account Finnish weather conditions, the special characteristics of animal feeding and other factors related to the northern growing conditions and environment. Therefore, the calculated results are more accurate than many of the calculation models in use, which are based on international averages,” says Development Manager Aleksi Astaptsev from Valio, who has been involved in the development of the calculation model from the beginning. The Carbo® Farm calculator has been developed in collaboration with Gofore.
National standard and uniform methodology make carbon footprint calculation in dairy and meat sector comparable
A consortium that includes Valio, Atria, HKFoods, Juustoportti and Snellman has been formed to accelerate the development of the calculator. The Carbo® Farm calculator will create a national carbon footprint calculation standard for Finnish milk and meat producers.
“The Carbo® Farm calculator and the consortium around it will provide a unique tool and collaboration platform to develop sustainability for Finnish cattle production. A uniform calculation model, training support for producers and a constantly evolving knowledge base will help the entire industry meet environmental requirements and improve competitiveness both domestically and internationally,” Atria’s Sinikka Hassinen, Director, Nautasuomi Oy, summarises the benefits of the collaboration.
Having one uniform calculation model will reduce the ambiguity associated with environmental impact assessments and provide reliable, transparent and comparable results for all operators. This way, the whole industry can focus on truly significant emission reduction measures.
“The Carbo® Farm calculator offers an advanced tool for determining the environmental impacts of beef production. The calculator illustrates the source of the farm’s environmental impacts, giving producers an excellent basis for farm development. Through the consortium’s collaboration, the same calculator will be widely used in the industry, so we’ll be able to offer truly comparable data,” says Sami-Jussi Talpila, Procurement Manager (Cattle), HKFoods Finland Ltd.
Juustoportti Director Niklas Keski-Kasari says Juustoportti is very pleased to be involved in industry collaboration. “It’s important that the carbon footprint is calculated using the common calculator and that the results are standardised. Going forward, the comparable results obtained each year will demonstrate the sustainability work being done on farms. With such a comprehensive sampling, it’s clear that the results calculated in our country will be lower than those in other countries. Our farms were happy to start using the calculator, so this is the way forward,” he concludes.
Support for farmers and in-depth information on environmental impacts
As sustainability requirements increase, farms are subject to increasingly more reporting and monitoring responsibilities that add to their busy routines. The consortium does, in fact, aim to facilitate the sustainability work of producers by providing the farms with a practical tool that supports environmental reporting and helps them in achieving their sustainability targets.
“Our shared experiences with producers have been positive,” says Vesa Hihnala, Development Manager at Snellman Lihanjalostus Oy. Our producers have been very enthusiastic to be involved: the calculator is easy to use and straightforward. The results give us and the farmers a good understanding of the environmental impacts of the different production methods. This helps in building fact-based, systematic sustainability work with the producers,” notes Vesa Hihnala.
The extensive, farm-level database produced by the Carbo® Farm calculator is a valuable resource not only for producers and food business operators, but also for the research community. This data can contribute to the development of new and more sustainable solutions, benefiting the whole sector in the long term.
Nearly 80% of Valio dairy farms calculate their carbon footprint annually using the Carbo® Farm calculator. “The carbon footprint figure is a tool we use to monitor success in reducing the emissions and achieving emission targets,” says Aleksi Astaptsev.
