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WHAT ARE CARBON AUDITS?

As carbon accounting rises on the agricultural agenda, Graduate Surveyor Kate Tomlinson and Graduate Farm Business Consultant Jake Nixon explore carbon auditing and share key findings from an audit of the GSC Grays arable enterprise.  

 

In 2019, the commitment to reduce GHG emissions was solidified by both the NFU and the UK government. Net Zero targets have propelled the importance of carbon accounting and, within the agricultural industry, it is expected to become a major part of future policy and a requirement of farm assurance schemes going forward.  

The potential for efficiency and profitability to be addressed in the same stroke as carbon accounting has also encouraged a steady uptake of carbon auditing over the last few years. 

WHAT ARE CARBON AUDITS?  

Carbon audits allow farmers and land managers to establish the level of greenhouses gases emitted from their businesses, whilst also calculating the amount of carbon being sequestered on-farm. Not only does this establish the carbon balance of a business, but it also highlights areas of inefficiency, which may identify ways to reduce costs as well as emissions. 

 

THE PROCESS 

Undertaking a carbon audit is a meticulous yet rewarding process. To accurately audit a farm business, all aspects of operations need to be evaluated from production systems, quantities and types of fuel, fertilisers and feeds, cropping areas and livestock numbers, to on-farm habitats and soil analysis results. Once completed, findings must be interpreted carefully to allow effective and practical recommendations to be made.   

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