Discovery sessions underway to progress GHG emissions calculator
Discovery sessions are underway with red meat processors, providing critical insights to inform the development of a greenhouse gas emissions calculator to support new and emerging reporting requirements.
The sessions form part of an AMPC co funded project being delivered by Agricultural Innovation Australia (AIA ), which aims to support the red meat sector to quantify emissions consistently across the supply chain.
Through the discovery process, processors are sharing insights into their current emissions reporting practices, data challenges and preparation for upcoming obligations.
These practical insights are being used to shape the design of a processor specific calculator module that is both fit for purpose and aligned with national approaches.
AMPC Program Manager Sustainability Matt Deegan said the discovery sessions are ensuring the calculator reflects processor needs, at a time when Scope 3 reporting is rapidly becoming a compliance reality.
“Processors are right on the doorstep of Scope 3 reporting requirements and AMPC’s work puts the sector on the front foot by setting processors up to be able to utilise a common framework.
“If red meat supply chains are better able to estimate commodity-level emissions it delivers more transparency and trust around the environmental performance of the product on the shelf or on people's plates," he said.
Insights from the discovery sessions are also informing how emissions data could be reliably transferred through the supply chain using verifiable credentials. This would allow emissions intensity information to be shared between producers, processors and manufacturers in a consistent and trustworthy way.
AMPC and nine other rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) have already invested with AIA to develop a digitised, industry wide, standardised calculation platform for GHG accounting.
The AIA Environmental Accounting Platform (EAP), a national carbon calculation engine designed for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, provides a consistent, science-backed tool to measure on-farm GHG emissions across multiple commodities.
AIA EAP Strategy Lead Agi Reefman said earlier work on wine and aquaculture calculators highlighted the value of extending emissions accounting into processing, manufacturing and packaging—learnings that are directly feeding into the red meat discovery process.
“The processor discovery sessions are helping us understand how those capabilities can be adapted for red meat, while meeting future reporting requirements and industry expectations,” Ms Reefman said.
