Agrecalc is a carbon reporting tool developed by combining the on-farm practical expertise of SAC Consulting with world-class agricultural science and research of SRUC.
What started as a small tool to help calculate the carbon footprint of imported lamb in 2007, grew into a fully-fledged Software as a Service. Agrecalc is a precise instrument that offers both breadth and depth of on-farm and through-the-supply-chain calculations of carbon footprint.
Agrecalc went online for farmers to use in 2014, and it has since been collating farm benchmark data from thousands of farms. The carbon reporting tool has been used as the designated software to deliver carbon audits under the Scottish Farm Advisory Service (FAS) (2016), the Beef Efficiency Scheme (BES) (2016), the Scottish Farm Business Survey (2018) in Scotland, as well as several government programmes in Northern Ireland and Wales since 2020.
In addition to continuous support of these schemes, Agrecalc is recognised as the preferred carbon calculator in emerging government programmes such as Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) in Scotland, DEFRA’s Future Farm Resilience (FFR) programme in England and with AHDB’s Farm Excellence Platform (FEP) across the UK.
The scientists, consultants and developers who work on Agrecalc carbon reporting tool strive to constantly upgrade the calculator according to the most up-to-date available research results and recommendations.
As the food we consume accounts for almost a third of all global greenhouse gas emissions, Agrecalc is on a mission to support the transition to sustainable agriculture, whilst helping maintain and increase efficiency and business viability of food production.
The Agrecalc team is committed to maintaining a consistent, defensible model of farm emissions based on the latest published reporting standards and scientific research. Our central model is based on greenhouse gas reporting guidelines published by the IPCC for national inventories. We also incorporate more specific national figures from the UK National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Our methods are certified by PAS 2050:2011, a standard for the robust quantification of product carbon footprints. In the interest of transparency, the page Our modelling methodology for carbon footprinting details the methodologies we use to quantify farm greenhouse gas emissions.
Agrecalc carbon reporting tool offers ethical, independent carbon assessment. We only employ evidence-based, latest verified scientific methods. At the same time, Agrecalc is practical enough to use on a farm: the SaaS is responsive, and can be used on any device. As a team, we are committed to owning what we do.
We work with a number of actors both along and outside of the supply chain. Our commitment to empowering a wide agricultural community has gained us an endorsement from the Scottish Government. We are tearing down the silo barriers day after day, in order to deliver the best possible outcome for our customer.
Agrecalc celebrates partnerships across the supply chain, from farmers and food processors, to policy makers and researchers, to standardising organisations and tech and data providers. We're proud to be enabling the flow of data, that will help the globe achieve a net-zero future. Everyone in Agrecalc is a team player.
True to the maxim of 'Be the change you seek', Agrecalc rolled up its sleeves as early as 2007, when claims of 'imported food having lower carbon footprint' appeared. This did not look like the future we wanted to see, and a small resource calculator was born. Today, it is the new scientific advancement that powers the Agrecalc engine, and part of our profit is dedicated to furthering new science and research.
Agrecalc carbon reporting tool combines accurate science with social responsibility. We want to enable all actors in the supply chain to analyse their operation's carbon footprint, paving the way to net-zero carbon emissions from agriculture. Further afield, we believe in sustainable, circular economy. We're aiming for a future that is built with heart and balance.
Is there a way to do things better? Absolutely. The more you use Agrecalc carbon reporting tool, the better it gets. As we work together to find solutions to sustainable farming, the results of that work help our researchers to continuously deliver a state-of-the-art platform that increases in power and accuracy. As efficiency is paramount, the tool can also suggest some cost-effective solutions and mitigation measures.