As part of Denmark’s national climate targets, the Danish agricultural and forestry sector must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 55-65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. This ambitious target requires that the individual farmer has a full overview of his emissions as well as reduction potentials.

In 2022, SEGES Innovation introduced the first version of the digital application, ESGreen Tool. The tool can be utilised to calculate farm-specific climate gas emissions from crop and livestock production based on the data available at the individual farm.

To generate a trustworthy measurement, the calculations are modelled on international standards and the guidelines of the IPCC. Considering the crops, soil types, fertiliser usage, number of livestock etc., the tool calculates the emissions of the three climate gases CO₂, CH4 and N₂O on a scope 1, 2 and 3 level.

Calculations of climate gas emissions based on the farmer’s own data has proven to be an efficient way to open the farmer’s eyes to the different climate emissions from his or her production. In addition, the tool has a ‘what-if’ functionality to investigate scenarios for which measures have the highest emissions reduction potential. This is of course relevant in relation to the cost and ease of implementation.

ESGreen Tool is also an innovative way of future-proofing agriculture. The results from the tool will be essential input to the ESG reporting that most – if not all – farmers soon will be providing to e.g., financial institutions.

Contributors:
SEGES Innovation, The Danish Agricultural Agency