The calculator, at the heart of MRV platforms

MRV platforms monitor projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They are therefore essential tools in the fight against climate change. However, the most important aspect of these tools is often overlooked: their calculator.

Even if they are unaware of it, farms that measure their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adopt practices to reduce them all need an MRV platform. This tool, used by climate transition specialists, supports the efforts of all companies that reduce their GHG emissions while notifying independent auditors so they can verify the results obtained.

These tools are therefore essential in the fight against climate change. That is why more and more organizations are offering them, often emphasizing the user-friendliness of their MRV platform or its ease of use. However, the quality of these platforms does not depend on the color of their graphics or the ergonomics of their menus, but rather on what they hide under the hood: their calculator.

MRV: Measurement, Reporting, and Verification

MRV is an acronym that stands for measurement, reporting, and verification. Basically, these platforms enable reliable and accurate monitoring of a company’s GHG emissions and the practices it implements to reduce them.

Logiag, for example, has created the Carbone+ MRV platform. This platform tracks GHG reductions on farms registered with the Dedicated Dairy Farms program. This 100% Quebec-made tool is based on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Holos model.

There are several other MRV platforms designed for the agricultural sector. One example is Hummingbird. Created by Agreena, a Dutch company, Hummingbird uses remote sensing to measure the results of regenerative agriculture. In the United States, the MRV platform invented by Regrow provides real-time monitoring. Finally, in the United Kingdom, the Cool Farm Tool platform from Cool Farm Alliance includes data on GHGs, biodiversity, and water use, while allowing the creation of hypothetical scenarios that facilitate the development of action plans.

The calculator, the heart of MRV platforms

Beyond their different features, the most important aspect of all these MRV platforms is their calculator. Although it remains in the shadows, it does most of the work, calculating GHG emissions before and after the implementation of practices aimed at reducing them. Without a good calculator, it is impossible to know whether the chosen practices have actually produced the desired effects!

The calculators’ algorithms and mathematical equations must also produce results that are as accurate and reliable as possible. It is thanks to these results (and their subsequent verification by auditors) that companies know whether or not they are buying hot air when they pay for GHG reductions. The rigor of the calculations performed by an MRV platform’s calculator is therefore an important bulwark against greenwashing. There is no doubt that the credibility and transparency of carbon markets depend largely on it. Finally, it is also the calculator that gives us a broader view of our progress against climate change. But… what is a good calculator? And how does it work?

To understand how a calculator works, you first need to understand how GHG emissions are measured. In the case of a farm that raises cows or pigs, for example, a reliable measurement of GHG emissions requires hundreds of data points, including the size of the herd, its diet and type of bedding; manure management methods; crops grown, fertilizers and other inputs used; soil texture and even average temperature and precipitation! The more parameters a calculator incorporates, the more accurate its results will be. As a result, it will be better able to estimate the impact of the reduction practices implemented.

GHG emissions to be collected… or estimated

The challenge in measuring GHGs is that emissions are not actually measured as such. Of course, agrologists collect certain “real” data on the farm, such as the amount of fertilizer applied or the accumulation of manure in the pit over the course of a year. “We collect this data in the field because it has a significant impact on a farm’s total GHG emissions and allows us to accurately measure the effect of reduction practices,” explains Pierrot-Baptiste Lemée-Jolicoeur, GHG modeling analyst at Logiag.

However, teams responsible for GHG reduction projects on farms almost never install sensors around fields or barns to measure emissions. Not only would this be very expensive, but it has already been done: scientists from different countries have already measured emissions from different agricultural practices and published their results in public databases. It is this data that calculators use to estimate the emissions of a farm or any other business interested in reducing its GHG emissions.

The ABCs of good data

However, access to these vast databases poses a new challenge: identifying the best data, i.e., the most reliable and representative estimate of GHG emissions for the company under study. To find it, climate transition specialists rely on one main criterion: the origin of the emission factor used to calculate this estimate.

An emission factor is an easy concept to understand: it is the amount of GHG produced by an emission source. For example, if producing one kilogram of feed emits 0.3 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent, this figure is multiplied by the amount of feed consumed by a herd to determine the total emissions associated with this source.

By looking at the origin of an emission factor, we can determine how representative it is of the farm being studied. To determine this, scientists use a three-tier quality scale. To understand this concept, let’s return to the example of GHGs emitted by forage production.

• Level one data could be a Canadian or international average that does not take into account cultivation techniques, number of harvests, or average temperature.
• Level two data would include more variables specific to the forage being studied, such as the species sown or the region’s average temperature.
• Level three data would reproduce actual forage production almost perfectly, taking into account the species sown, cultivation techniques, average temperature, and number of harvests, for example.

A balance to be found

Obviously, level three data is preferable. Unfortunately, existing databases do not contain data of this quality for all regions of the world, all agricultural practices or all types of livestock. A great deal of research, analysis and calculation is therefore required to find the best GHG estimation for emissions source and know how adapt it if necessary. While the goal remains to maximize high-quality data, it is important to recognize that the final result will not be greatly affected by a few less accurate data points out of the hundreds that need to be collected.

Finally, teams behind good calculators ensure that the data selected has been measured using reliable and reproducible methods.

Methodology: an essential companion to the MRV platform

Before concluding, it is essential to mention the methodology that supports each GHG reduction project. The methodology specifies how a team collects its data, ensures its reliability, and integrates it into its calculator. It is also the methodology that details how the calculator itself works and the degree of uncertainty inherent in its results. Ideally, an independent third party validates a project’s methodology to ensure that it actually produces the expected GHG reductions.

In short, the calculator, the MRV platform, and the methodology are key elements of a GHG reduction project. Thanks to them, farms and other businesses can inventory their emissions, track and analyze the effects of their actions, and adjust their strategies as needed. It is therefore in their best interest to examine these tools very closely, without being charmed by the user-friendliness of an MRV platform and forgetting to look under the hood!