ESGGoalsforAgriculture

by Deborah Wilson, Chief Industry Engagement Officer, TrustBIX Inc.

ESG ~ acronym for Environmental, Social & (Corporate) Governance

Why We Need to Connect Data Dots and Fill in Information Gaps Along the Cattle and Beef Supply Chains

Recently, Kawasaki Heavy Industries claimed1 that it aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its domestic factories in 2030. They ’ re planning to build a hydrogen-fueled power plant that will provideelectricitytoitsfactories.WonderwhyI’ m talking about a Japanese heavy-equipment company? Because their plan is not just to bring down emissions at domestic sites. Their overarching goal is to show everyone a workable and affordable way to carbon neutrality. The fact that companies, representing various industries includingfastmovingconsumergoodscompanies likefoodretailersacrosstheworld,havecommitted to reducing emissions and changing the way they have been running businesses for decades. This means that mitigating climate change and supportingtheenvironmentbyactionsisnotonly a responsibility of environmental activists and scientists anymore. Contributing to decarbonization and global energy transition is something business owners should keep in mind, whether they run a multi-national or national business, a retail store or a small local business, a farm, a feedlot or a processing plant. Lets ’ look at three agri-food pillars of a green future: reducing energyuse,understandingcarbonstoragepotential, and turning organic waste into biochar for soil amendments and feed additives.

Rethinking Energy Use: Good for the Environment and Your Bank Account

“Howmuchareyoupayingforelectricity?Our bills are ridiculous! We have the TV on all the time, and I keep forgetting to turn the lights off. Maybe switching to LED bulbs would help?” How many times have you had a conversation like this with your friends and family? When it comes to our households, it ’ s quite easy to find relevant information about how much energy is usedonaverageandeveneasiertodiscoverdozens of ways to reduce energy use. But if you want to get the same data about businesses in a particular industry,itbecomesarealchallenge,especiallyfor those who manage farms and ranches. There is notenoughagriculturalenergyusedataavailable, and each case is unique since energy use depends on multiple factors from location, to size, to facilities, to average temperature throughout the year.What stays the same is that reducing energy consumption is vital to the future of agriculture andagri-food,nottomentionthebenefitofacost savingstothoseoperationsgatheringthedata.It ’ s theoldadageof“ youcan ’ tchangewhatyoudon ’ t measure ” .

How about a 20-30% decrease in operational energy costs? Is that of interest? If so, read on…. Withtherighttoolsthatletyoumeasure,analyze, andoptimizeenergyuse,it ’ spossible.TrustBIXis proud to be a partner with BuildSense and introduce AgSense – a software that allows you toanalyzeandbenchmarkyouroperation ’ senergy useandemissionsagainstyourindustrypeersand quicklyseewhatprocessescanbeimproved.This will not only affect your bottom line in a positive way but also help verify and measure your ESG values, which is necessary across supply chains in the 21

st

century. You will also contribute to data that can be anonymized and aggregated to show atrueindicationofenergyusedinouragriculture and agri-food operations, creating some valuable benchmarks in the ag industry that don ’ t exist today. Interestingly, they do exist in most other industries.

Focusing on Carbon Storage Potential Carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities operate in numerous locations worldwide, from Norway to Brazil, from Canada to Australia. Currently, the largest operational CCS facility in the world is in the US and has a storage capacity of seven million metric tons per year. Here, in Canada, we have CCS projects of the same prominence. The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) is the world’ s newest large-scale carbon capture,utilizationandstoragesystem.Itcaptures industrial emissions and delivers the CO₂ to oil and gas reservoirs. Imagine capturing CO₂ from morethan3millioncars–that ’ showmuchCO₂ ACTLcantransporteveryyear.It ’ sfairtosaythat the future of lower-carbon economies relies on suchinfrastructureelementsastheACTLsystem,

but we can ’ t forget about other carbon sequestration and storage opportunities. More investment and large businesses are looking to agriculture and its large land base (carbon sinks) with interest.

The land has the power to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. Today, the communityofCanadianfarmerswhofollowsuch sustainable practices as maintaining grasslands, subterraneanirrigation,no-tillfarming,andusing organicfertilizersmakeasignificantcontribution to reducing the amount of GHGs (Green House Gas) in the atmosphere. Another added benefit of shifting towards sustainability in your operation is claiming that you do take action to help achieve global goals. Here, at TrustBIX, we areabletosupportthoseclaimsthroughdataand benchmarking to build trust among all supply chainlinks.Again,withsoftwareanddata.There have been life cycle analyses completed in the cattle industry but how does an individual operation, or possibly a breed, actually demonstrate their claims? Carbon offsets and credits that can yield revenue for farmers and ranchers are on the horizon.

Giving Waste Another Life Living in a 3R circular economy (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle), it ’ s impossible to waste anything that has the potential to be recycled. Waste from different stages of food production processes can be used in numerous ways, but mostly it ’ s used for animal feed, biochar, and soil amendments production.

The concept of using waste from food manufacturing in animal feed and soil amendments is not new. Biochar, which we have covered in this blog https://blog.trustbix.com/biochar-why-this-darkmatter-is-one-part-of-a-sustainable-future-for-the -agrifood-industry, is a relatively new concept of reusing organic waste and turning it into a revenue stream. However, as more and more companies, such as big retailers that want to recycle their organic waste and organic matter fromconstructionsites.Thereispotentialforthis process to become a significant practice, new concerns arise. For example, if the waste is not managed properly, the source verified, it can get contaminated and cause animal health issues when used as a feed additive. It ’ s equally critical to know all the components of biochar and soil amendments based on organic waste or animal by-products. That ’ s why having the ability to prove that protocols are followed and being able to provide the history of the source of waste and how it has been handled is vital for anyone who wants to turn organic waste into new resources. Itisbeingdonetodayandyoucandothataswell with our enhanced BIX platform. The product, Biochar, is available today as an animal feed supplementwhichaidswithgainsandareduction inemissions.JustgoogleBiocharandanimalfeed, forreamsofwhitepapersonthebenefitsofusing this. I was on a webinar the other day with US producers (some of the bigger feedlots participated) and I can tell you that they are tremendously excited about using Biochar for cattle and poultry.

AtTrustBIX,webelievethatinvestinginactions thatbringtangibleresultsisthemostefficientway to help the world trust more, waste less, and reward sustainable behavior. Start making significant changes one small step at a time. Together, we can and will make significant changes that will prove our cattle industry, or perhapseventheAngusbreed,istrulysustainable ending what I call the demonization of the cattle industry.

Contactustoday- info@trustbix.comtolearn more about anyone of the three pillars covered above,andhowitcanchangeyourbusiness,large or small. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/kaw asaki-heavy-aims-domestic-carbon-neutrality-20 30-hydrogen-power-2369596