Farmers supplying Tesco have become the first in the world to use a new online tool to help producers slash their carbon emissions - and those of the food and drink giants they supply.

Some 50 of the retailer’s producers covering about 1,500ha of crops in the UK and Spain were chosen for the soft launch of the Cool Farm Tool two weeks ago.

On full launch in two weeks’ time, the tool, pioneered by scientists from the University of Aberdeen and Unilever and backed by companies including M&S, PepsiCo and Heineken, as well as Tesco, will be available to all producers of crops and livestock.

The latest interactive version allows producers to upload details of their use of fertilisers, transport and energy in return for detailed information on their footprint as well as advice on how to reduce it. It also enables retailers and suppliers to compile detailed reports of supply chain activity.

Previously, the tool, which is being rolled out by the US-based not-for-profit Cool Farm Institute and UK sustainability experts Best Foot Forward, had been confined to a more primitive spreadsheet format.

Best Foot Forward founder Craig Simmons said he hoped this month’s launch would see a “tenfold” increase in producer participation to up to 1,000 reports year.

“The carbon footprinting of crops and livestock is one of the big remaining challenges for the industry, whereas so much has been done when it comes to distribution and packaging,” he said. “There have been no opportunities for benchmarking globally and we’re hoping this will be a major breakthrough.”

Andrew Yeo, head of supply chain carbon reduction at Tesco, said the tool would “help farmers reduce their carbon footprint through improved efficiency and on-farm practices”.

This Tesco pilot of the Cool Farm Tool is being run in the Tesco Producer Network managed by 2degrees.

Topics