Scottish Farm and Butchery Takes Big Strides in Carbon Reduction

 Pip Lorimer

Biodiversity Auditing and Enrichment, Regenerative Agriculture, Habitat Creation and Conservation

Client: Confidential

 

 

 

 

The Brief

Tomson Consulting Limited team were asked to review, update and expand the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) for a small Scottish family-owned farm, butchery and meat processing company. Through implementing the recommendations of their first CMP, the company had already reduced carbon emissions associated with on-site energy, water, waste management and company transport by 58% from 2015 to 2020. The Tomson Consulting team, led by Mike Milner, spent time working with the company to identify potential opportunities to decrease this further.

Opportunities to further improve carbon management identified as part of this project included:

  • Increasing the output of the client's biomass CHP
  • Implementing a system of returnable transit packaging for meat supplies
  • Switching to hybrid vehicles, using energy from the biomass CHP to charge them
  • Investing in solar PV with battery storage

The Tomson Consulting team calculated that implementing these recommendations would reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the scope of this carbon management plan by 46% compared to the 2020 baseline. 

Further opportunities to be developed are a ‘Net-zero' strategy which would put the client at the forefront of carbon management in the food sector, a significant differentiator from the company's competitors. 

 

Areas

Conservation And Biodiversity

Key Stakeholders

NatureScot, Department for Agriculture & Rural Economy

 

Opportunites

  • Provide advice and guidance to further enhance the client's carbon management plan whilst ensuring opportunities for growth and continued profitability.
  • Calculate the client's carbon footprint, with a baseline year of 2020, to provide relevant and meaningful data for the client to measure progress and set targets.
  • Broaden the scope of the existing carbon management plan to include GHG emissions “farm to factory gate” following the standard PAS2050.
  • Reduce carbon emissions by developing renewable energy solutions, increasing resource efficiency, and reducing the production and disposal of waste materials.
  • Work towards net-zero by improving carbon sequestration on the farm, through maintaining hedgerows, and reinstating woodland and wetland.

Challenges

Tomson Consulting Limited's vision of reducing carbon emissions addresses many major cross-sectoral challenges including how to:

  • Maintaining the impressive rate of reduction of the client's greenhouse gas emissions since their first Carbon Management Plan in 2015.
  • Broadening the scope of the Carbon Management Plan.
  • Sequestering carbon on farm whilst ensuring efficient and profitable production.
  • Accurately measuring the associated carbon savings of carbon management actions.

 

 

Outcomes

As a result of this project, Mike Milner has created an updated Carbon Management Plan for the client, with a new baseline year of 2020. The report identifies opportunities to reduce a further 106 tonnes of carbon associates with energy, water, waste, and company transport. Implementing these recommendations would reduce the client's greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to the 2020 baseline. 

The Carbon Management Plan will also:

 

Differentiate the company from its competition, improving market position and profits.

 

Reduce operating costs thanks to increased resource efficiency and waste reduction.

 

Diversify client's energy sources, increasing resilience and energy security.

 

Provide a baseline for future carbon management and monitoring.

 

Provide a framework to enable the company to achieve a carbon neutrality accreditation, for example PAS2060 or the Science Based Targets Initiative.

 

 

 

 

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