Carbon management strategically reduces the CO2 emissions of a business’s carbon footprint. Find out how businesses are adopting carbon management strategies.

What is carbon management?

Carbon management is a growing field for addressing the contribution businesses have to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The approach is helpful for environmental management, because it applies a practical lens to an often challenging problem of global warming.

Finding the most straightforward, effective strategies for businesses reducing emissions requires measurement, accuracy, a combination of technological and soft skills, and a commitment to becoming part of the solution to climate change.

In this article, we'll explain what carbon management is, why it's important, and how your company can get started.

Carbon management is an organized approach to gain the strategic advantages of CO₂ emissions reductions. Carbon management helps organizations stay focused on achieving their targets to reduce CO₂ emissions and their use of fossil fuels.

With mandatory reporting requirements in the UK and EU, and stakeholder pressure for businesses to set goals to reduce emissions and implement carbon management helps businesses, measure, track, and manage emissions in an organized way.

💡 Carbon management combines practical, cost-effective approaches to reducing annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in ways that enhance environmental performance.

Carbon management is useful for identifying useful carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions reduction strategies for cutting back the annual emissions business report to stakeholders in their CSR reports.

There are a wide range of strategies employed in carbon management: energy efficiency, low-carbon fuel substitution, renewable energy certificates, life cycle analysis, and the use of new technologies like carbon capture, otherwise known as direct air capture – are all strategies that can help businesses lower their reported CO₂ emissions.

👉 However, not all companies can afford carbon capture and storage systems – meaning that some business leaders may need to re-evaluate their industrial processes and use critical thinking to employ effective carbon management strategies. 

Science and research are seeking new ideas for decarbonization technologies are being made all of the time to improve upon sustainable development, but the good news is – emissions reductions can already be made through the implementation of one or more of these broad categories.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the world’s primary, human-produced greenhouse gas. Carbon management has the ultimate goal to help industries find cost-effective solutions in their transition to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases like CO2. Because every industry is different, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Effective carbon management takes an individualized approach to meet the unique business challenges and needs of each operation.

What is Carbon Management?

Carbon management does not just look at the problem of carbon emissions added to the atmosphere each year, it supports the development of technologies and approaches to address the legacy emissions and hard to abate industrial emissions.

Even if we completely reduce new generation of CO₂ emissions to zero, carbon management will support the removal of the build-up of historic CO₂ emissions and usage of fossil fuels.

Within organizations, carbon management goes beyond technology to include policies, training, and techniques that reduce CO₂ emissions strategically. With a managerial approach to the problem of CO₂ emissions, organizations can avoid a disorderly and confusing process to alter their systems.

👉 In other words, technology development can help make a low carbon future a reality.

Luckily, there are multiple pathways of improvement. In the event of CO₂ emissions reduction, carbon management identifies the pathways of least resistance.

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<h2>Importance of Carbon Management</h2>

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        <th>Reason</th>
        <th>Description</th>
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        <td>Helps Engage Stakeholders</td>
        <td>Effective carbon management demonstrates a company's commitment to environmental sustainability, which can engage and motivate employees, customers, and investors. It shows that the company is proactive in addressing climate change, which can enhance its reputation and stakeholder trust.</td>
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        <td>Attract New Customers and Investors</td>
        <td>Many consumers and investors are becoming more environmentally conscious and prefer to support companies that prioritize sustainability. By implementing carbon management practices, businesses can attract a new segment of eco-conscious customers and investors, thereby expanding their market reach and financial opportunities.</td>
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        <td>Avoid Legal Fines from Lack of Compliance</td>
        <td>Regulations on carbon emissions are becoming stricter globally. Proper carbon management ensures compliance with these regulations, helping companies avoid legal fines and penalties. Staying ahead of regulatory requirements can also provide a competitive advantage.</td>
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        <td>Long-Term and Sustainable Business Growth</td>
        <td>Managing carbon emissions can lead to cost savings through improved energy efficiency and reduced waste. These savings can be reinvested into the business for further growth. Additionally, sustainable practices can open up new business opportunities and markets that are increasingly favoring eco-friendly products and services.</td>
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Manage your company’s carbon emissions: calculate your carbon footprint

Climate change will fundamentally shape the course of business over the next few decades, so it is important to stay alert regarding the use of natural gas, GHG emissions, energy costs, and climate change overall.

Carbon credentials demonstrate an organization’s legitimate approach to a globally acknowledged problem: carbon emissions are too high, and science, resources, research, and new ideas need to be sought out for the sake of the climate and reducing harmful greenhouse gases and methane emissions.

💡 Every carbon management system starts with collecting the data on CO₂ emissions. Consider this data a starting point to slice down the numbers towards zero and work towards net reduction.

The problem is not just that businesses have not set net zero targets, the issue is many have not even calculated their baseline of GHG emissions. Remember, a CO₂ emissions baseline is the starting point which enables carbon management in the first place.

With a baseline, your organization can effectively measure progress  relative to the starting point. This helps you scope out actions that  could immediately minimize your CO₂ footprint and allow for cost  savings, or even reduce costs – while also improving efficiency.

The baseline also helps organizations develop strategies with a timeline, budget, and KPIs – like any management problem in an organization. Your carbon dashboard is a communication tool for benchmarking performance, highlighting progress, and building trust.

“Carbon footprint” is a popular sustainability buzzword, but some people may not understand its meaning. The phrase refers to the sum of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous dioxide, methane, and HFCs) which our carbon intensive activities and other projects produce.

Carbon footprints can be calculated for individuals, businesses, cities, or even countries. On average, people in the US have a carbon footprint of 16 tons of CO₂ emissions per year. This is much higher than the global annual average of 4 tons.

Even this average, however, is still too high to limit global emissions to less than 2℃ by 2100. The global average footprint should drop to 2 tons or less per year by 2050.

Tackling climate change is a big task, but there are clear ways of cutting your contribution to carbon emissions, also known as your carbon footprint.

This is how changing three aspects of your life can make a difference.

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Climate Change: Your carbon footprint explained - BBC News

💡 Businesses have play a central role in helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, because a large amount of emissions occur during the production and distribution of goods and services, which individuals cannot change.

Businesses are also responsible for the way products are designed. By designing products and services which effectively encourage emissions reducing behaviors, businesses can manage carbon to cut back on emissions inefficiencies.

How can you calculate the carbon footprint of your company?

You may have seen carbon footprint calculators online which quickly help you audit your lifestyle for its CO₂ emissions impact. However, these calculators only scratch the surface. Greenly supports its clients with a range of services that are useful for carbon measurement and management.

These assess the total level of CO₂ emissions per year for a range of business activities. A carbon footprint measurement converts the activities of your organization into a tangible set of facts and figures.

These activities may fall within different Scopes. The 3 main Scopes worth addressing are Scope 1 (operations), Scope 2 (off-site energy used in operations), and Scope 3 (upstream supply-chain and downstream consumer value chain emissions).

Most emissions fall under the Scope 3 category for businesses, and reporting recommendations are increasingly concerned with these emissions.

Assessing the carbon footprint of Scope 3 emissions often benefits from the support of a partnering organization familiar with the latest measurement techniques.

Overview of Greenly's interface for carbon footprint

Unlike a carbon footprint, which assesses organizational activities for a given period of time, life cycle analysis looks at how CO₂ emissions and other environmental impacts occur across the useful life of a product or service.

Let’s use a product as an example. Before a product becomes useful to a customer, it starts out as nothing more than a bunch of raw materials. These require energy and an assembly line to produce. Next, products should be shipped to a warehouse, which requires gas, fuel and other resources.

After the item is sold, a consumer will use the item for a period of time. If the item requires energy or fuel to use, it will produce emissions in the hands of the consumer. This is an example of when carbon management technologies cannot reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon management is now the responsibility of the consumer.

After this, the item will either get resold, recycled, or disposed of. At that point, additional carbon emissions may be produced in either one of these stages.

👉 Therefore, a life cycle analysis produces a flow chart showing how a product is made, transported, used, and eventually disposed of. Along each step of the flow chart there are related CO₂ emissions to measure and assess. We can help with life cycle analysis at Greenly.

Overview of Greenly's interface for life cycle analysis

Carbon emissions can be strategically reduced by an organization with the help of carbon offsets. These offsets may come in the form of a verified project that uses natural forests, soils, or the ocean to sink existing CO₂ emissions.

Alternatively, it may also address potential emissions. If you can help people avoid carbon emissions they would normally produce, you can effectively cut down on total CO₂ emissions for a period of time. This could be achieved by investing in renewable energy projects such as power plants or further carbon management research.  

Organizations which subtract more CO₂ from their total CO₂ emissions than they produce achieve “climate positive” operations. Wouldn’t it be great to benefit the earth more than enough to compensate for your emissions?

💡 Remember, carbon offsetting shouldn't be used in place of an effective carbon reduction strategy – but a supplement to reduce the leftover emissions which prove more difficult to avoid.

5 tips for an efficient carbon management

Renewable energy sources provide low-carbon opportunities for energy consumption. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, power plants, and a range of other opportunities. Most of these energy sources produce no CO₂ emissions once they are operational, proving that power generation doesn't need to create excessive carbon emissions.

When a company reports its energy and fuel mix in a carbon footprint assessment, each type of energy is associated with a different level of CO₂ emissions. By sourcing renewable energy, a business can report zero emissions in this category and improve their carbon management.

So how should a company verify its use of renewable energy? 

The answer varies depending on which country or region an organization operates in. Here are a few different opportunities:

RECs - In the United States, companies can purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match their use of energy, even if they don’t operate in an area with enough publicly available renewable energy. One renewable energy credit equals 1 MWh of electricity.

REGOs – In the UK, Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin verifies a company has used energy from 100% renewable sources.

RE100 is an initiative for companies who wish to commit to sourcing 100% of their electricity from renewable sources.

👉 Aside from these certificates, companies can also join one of several initiatives to demonstrate their support for expanding renewable energy sources.

Currently, the initiative includes 418 companies which source about 45% of their electricity needs from renewable sources. As of 2023, 76 of these companies have reported 100% renewable energy sourcing.  

24/7 Carbon Free Energy - The UN created its 24/7 Carbon Free Energy Compact to encourage governments, investors, and utilities to supply decarbonized energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This initiative supports expanding full access to clean energy sources.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many workplaces to expand their digital and remote working systems out of necessity. Lockdowns during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that people couldn't easily travel for conferences or work in shared office spaces.

As a result, a wide range of digital opportunities became more widely used: Zoom, Skype, Slack, and Clubhouse offered networking opportunities both within organizations and externally.

From a carbon footprint perspective, digital working opportunities significantly cut down on the number of work commutes and air miles spent on travel for work purposes. Even after lockdowns have been lifted, most conferences and events still offer reduced-rate entry for digital attendees.

For hard-to-reduce air miles, companies should be aware that every passenger seat type has a different carbon footprint. According to the UK Defra Carbon Factors, first-class emissions are 0.60kg CO₂e, business class emissions are 0.43kg CO₂e, and economy class emissions are just 0.15 CO₂e.

Employee commutes aren’t the only thing to consider. Companies with fleets of vehicles can reduce their CO₂ emissions by switching to electric vehicles, hybrid, or alternative fuel-source vehicles.

👉 It’s important to think beyond road-based vehicles, too. This includes fleets of lawn mowers, utility vehicles, forklifts, and other equipment used in the operations of a business.

The driving habits of your employees can also make a considerable difference in terms of the overall CO₂ footprint of a company. To address this, training on low-emissions driving styles, ride sharing incentives, and route optimization can all improve a company’s transportation-based emissions.

Finally, promoting alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles such as trains, bikes, and metro all offer carbon management techniques worth exploring.

3. Optimize systems for energy efficiency

There are literally hundreds of ways businesses can optimize their energy efficiency. The best part about energy efficiency is it saves money! Until you undergo a carbon footprint assessment, these opportunities might not seem obvious.

Retrofits, technology swaps, smart technologies, and operational and behavior changes can all improve energy efficiency metrics. This is why carbon management benefits from thinking outside the box.

For starters, lighting is a great way to cut back. LED lighting is an energy efficiency miracle that not nearly enough businesses have tapped into. Changing window glazing, motion sensors, smart timers, dimming lights, and even improving access to natural light can also cut down on electricity costs.

Next, consider your building’s insulation, air flow, and seasonal shifts to optimize the use of natural resources and insulation, while turning off excess power for areas not in use. Swap out energy intensive appliances and equipment with energy saving alternatives.

💡 Smart technologies and thermostats can help you track, monitor, and operate your buildings more efficiently.

4. Take your heating and cooling to the next level

Heating and cooling contribute significant amounts of CO₂ emissions. One of the most impactful green building strategies you can make is switching from a natural gas heater or boiler heater to an energy efficient heat pump.

However, this will require an upfront cost. Researching incentives from your local government may help you finance the shift.

Operational adjustments can go a long way to cut down on the excess. Smart thermostats can adjust the indoor temperature according to the outside temperature automatically and shift temperature during day and nighttime.

To reduce cooling costs, inventive approaches like planting trees near buildings, installing shading, increasing natural airflow, or painting a roof with reflective paint can all cut down on indoor temperatures in summer.

Data storage centers often use excess cooling to keep the servers from overheating. However, improving the accuracy of the temperature in the center can cut down on unnecessary cooling costs. This could mean raising the ambient temperature a few degrees.

Every item in your office has a life cycle which could prematurely send materials to the landfill. Procurement strategies have proven effective in reducing the amount of unnecessary waste created.

This can include purchasing recycled or used goods, or leasing office furniture. Circular business models that lease equipment and offer repair and maintenance services can extend the useful lifespan of items.

All of the small supplies that are quickly used up in an office such as food, drinks, paper, or other supplies can all be optimized for low-waste alternatives. Composting, food donations, and storing files electronically can all minimize waste from these supplies.

Electronics contribute significant waste each year, so ensuring that your company prioritizes recycling e-waste and repair services is another way to minimize waste.

💡 Every item that is sent to the landfill adds to your carbon footprint, making it important to practice green living whenever possible.

Greenly helps businesses conduct carbon footprint assessments and develop carbon management strategies to draw down emissions. 

Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.

Don't wait any longer, take the first step towards reducing your carbon footprint by requesting a free and non-binding demo with one of our experts today and finding the solution that best fits your business needs.

In this article, we’ll break down what regenerative farming is, how it could prove helpful during climate change, and other alternatives.

What is Regenerative Farming?

As climate change and droughts persist, the threat of global warming and how it could impact already-existing food scarcity counties loom over the planet – but luckily, regenerative farming could serve as the answer.

There are several ways in which we have made an attempt to ensure produce remains plentiful despite our now unpredictable climate – such as with green houses and utilizing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), but regenerative agriculture can help to prevent food scarcity without sacrificing quantity or quality. 

What is regenerative agriculture and farming?

Regenerative farming refers to the process of nurturing and revamping degraded soils to help enhance biodiversity and boost a farmer’s overall harvest – ultimately aiding in both their productivity and profitability.


In the same manner as climate smart farming, regenerative farming aims to work with nature instead of against it – as regenerative farming works to reverse degradation, improve soil health, and make its surrounding environment more conducive to a plentiful harvest.

Regenerative agriculture implies more than just sustaining something but rather an active rebuilding or regeneration of existing systems towards full health. It also implies an open-ended process of ongoing improvement and positive transformation. – (Charles Massy).  

Regenerative agriculture is an effective way to restore biodiversity and stabilize the climate, but what exactly is it? This video explores three different regenerative practices that have great potential both in food production and in healing the land.

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Music: Dubious Doings by Thomas Howe (used with permission)

Sources:

Organic Agriculture does more harm than good
Searchinger et al., Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating climate change, 2018.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...

Bacteria Converts Ammonium into Nitrite and Nitrate:
Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis, Teaming with Microbes, 2006, 48.

Myceilium brings water to plants:
Ibid, 57.

Worms increase water absorption and allow plant roots to penetrate deeper:
Ibid, 89.

Fertilizer leeches into water:
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 2005.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/e...

Regenerative grazing can sequester carbon:
Sanderman et al., Impacts of Rotational Grazing on Soil Carbon in Native Grass-Based Pastures in Southern Australia, 2015.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...

Regenerative grazing can build soil and reverse desertification:
Allan Savory, Holistic Management, 1999, 244.

The growth of grass:
Global Rangelands, Basics of Grass Growth
https://globalrangelands.org/topics/r...
Julius Ruechel, The Daily Pasture Rotation, 2009.
https://www.grass-fed-solutions.com/p...

Overgrazing leads to erosion, drought, and desertification:
Ibanez et al., Desertification due to overgrazing in a dynamic commercial livestock–grass–soil system, 2007.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

Food forests consist of 7 layers:
Toby Hemenway, Gaia's Garden, 2001, 172.

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:21 What does it actually involve?
0:41 No-Till Farming
1:25 Regenerative Grazing
2:35 Agro-Forestry
3:21 Conclusion

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

Here are some of the key aspects of regenerative farming:

Soil Health Improvement – Regenerative farming will seek to improve soil structure such as by supporting microbial, life, preventing erosion, adding organic matter to the soil, ensuring nitrogen levels are sufficient, and avoiding the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

Boost Biodiversity – As biodiversity can help to support the surrounding environment by stabilizing temperatures and plantlife, regenerative farming focuses on crop rotation, food forests, adding livestock, and planting new trees or shrubs in farming areas to promote carbon sequestration.

Reducing Water Usage – Working to monitor water consumption is an important facet of climate change, but it’s also an imperative component of regenerative agriculture – as reducing water waste helps to build resilience to future droughts, ensures soil moisture retention, and can protect waterways from water pollution or erosion. 

Building Climate Resilience – Think of someone slowly running a little but more everyday in order to build up their strength for a full-length marathon. The same concept goes for regenerative farming, as efforts to store carbon in nearby soil can help to reduce atmospheric CO₂, improve overall soil conditions, and allow farmers to more easily assimilate to better practices in the midst of climate change.

Improved Livestock Management – Animals play an important role in regenerative farming, and in regenerative agriculture – farmers will often make an effort to relocate animals across land to mimic natural grazing patterns, use multiple different species to reduce potential parasites, and aim to recycle manure to enrich the soil. 

Economic Benefits – Regenerative farming isn’t only better for the environment and for a lucrative harvest season, but it can reap invaluable economic benefits – as more crops can help to support local markets, reduce freight emissions, and encourage greater social responsibility in farm labor. 

As a whole, regenerative farming can help to restore and enhance soil health, biodiversity, and boost climate resilience to support a more stable food supply, our global economy, and encourage more sustainable farming practices.

Regenerative farming is important as it can help boost soil health, allow for more quality and nutrient dense crops to be grown, and help to protect farmland as opposed to destroying it – which is essential in the midst of climate change as natural disasters, droughts, and increased deforestation all pose a threat to agriculture as we currently know it. 

As climate change is already menacing in terms of productive farming, which is essential to support communities and our economies worldwide – regenerative farming is pivotal as it teaches us how to work with nature instead of against it.

Without regenerative farming, it could become increasingly difficult for farmers to grow food, conserve water, reduce the use of synthetic chemicals – or to even employ people and ensure long-term success and sustainability of their farming business. 

What are the benefits of regenerative farming?

Regenerative farming can help to benefit the environment, economy, and even the mental and physical health of people in your local community.

Here’s a breakdown of the benefits of regenerative farming:

As regenerative farming can help to boost soil health and fertility, it can help to support carbon cycling and biodiversity in the surrounding air and bodies of water. 

Additional ecological benefits of regenerative agriculture include:

Boosting soil’s water-holding capacity 

Helping to encourage more diverse and plentiful plant, bird, and insect species 

Essentially, all life depends upon the soil…there can be no life without soil and no soil without life: they have evolved together. – (Dr. Charles Kellogg, Soil Scientist). 

Regenerative farming can economically benefit both the farmers and consumers, such as how it can allow for cost savings on behalf of those working in regenerative agriculture or help to boost local businesses and stimulate regional economies. 

The economic benefits of regenerative farming include: 

Allowing farmers to reduce operational costs as they will eschew the need for most chemical fertilizers and pesticides

Diversified revenue streams which allow for lucrative financial endeavors

Boosting local economies by promoting local, healthier produce and providing locals with new employment opportunities 

Potentially the most overlooked advantage of regenerative farming, communities are bound to experience multiple benefits – such as improved health of residents in their local community in addition to boosting their economies. 

Here’s how regenerative farming can benefit local communities:

Regenerative farming allows for a greater network of farmers who are willing to learn new climate smart farming techniques from one another, which in turn can help to build a more supportive community – which is essential whilst working to fight against climate change as a whole;

Improving the relationship between consumers and the produce that they purchase, as regenerative farming ensures honest, holistic, and sustainable practices – which can also help to avoid misleading eco-labels or potential greenwashing;

Regenerative farmers may get more joy out of their job as a result of regenerative agriculture practices – as it goes back to the root of farming without the use of superfluous technology or chemicals;

Residents in communities where regenerative farming is prioritized will experience health benefits from fresher produce, which can help to reduce eco-anxiety, avoid respiratory illnesses from air pollution caused by traditional farming tactics, and boost overall health.

Overall, regenerative farming can provide indispensable benefits for everyone involved – making it one of the most lucrative and sustainable ways to both protect our planet and also ensure food security.

Regenerative farming works by utilizing various techniques to ensure that the farming practices work alongside nature instead of against it, such as with cover cropping, no-till farming, and agroforestry. 

It is important to note that regenerative farming does not require the use of all of these techniques, but rather an effort to “work smarter, not harder” – as farmers should pick the mechanisms most likely to boost their individual productivity in agriculture.

We can improve soil health much faster than we used to think. It’s just a matter of following the principles of nature. – (Gabe Brown, who pioneered the soil-health movement in the United States).

Examples of regenerative farming techniques

Here are a few examples of the many different ways that regenerative farming can effectively be employed:

Cover Cropping – This refers to the practice of planting crops not to be harvested, but rather to protect the soil underneath. This helps to mitigate soil erosion, ensure soil quality, avoid weeds and pests, boost biodiversity, and support wildlife.

Rotational Grazing – As an effort to mimic the manner that larger animals would move in open grasslands, regenerative farming often utilizes rotational grazing – which can help encourage livestock to move between pastures more frequently and boost soil fertility. 

Composting – Although an already simple and common practice for households across the globe to help mitigate global food waste, composting is also a viable tactic in regenerative farming – as it can help facilitate the process of turning food waste into fertilizer. 

No-till Farming – This is a farming technique that aims to keep soil undisturbed from plowing or other invasive processes, but rather allowing the crop to grow freely. In the same way that flossing too hard or frequently could irritate your gums, leaving soil to its natural processes can help to boost its health and therefore encourage more plentiful and nutritious produce.

Agroforestry – As an indigenous practice designed mimic forest systems by planting various trees and shrubs in your existing agricultural environment, agroforestry can help to support regenerative farming as it helps to boost tree-crop production, interact with livestock, and protect the surrounding environment. 

The table below will explain how each of these methods can help to support regenerative farming and exactly how it ensures a more plentiful harvest – therefore benefitting the environment, farmers, economies, and local communities.

<table border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; text-align: left;">
    <thead>
        <tr style="background-color: #4CAF50; color: white;">
            <th>Regenerative Practice</th>
            <th>How It Supports Regenerative Farming</th>
            <th>How It Ensures a More Plentiful Harvest</th>
            <th>Environmental Benefits</th>
            <th>Economic & Community Benefits</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td><strong>Cover Cropping</strong></td>
            <td>Planting non-harvested crops to protect and enrich the soil.</td>
            <td>Prevents erosion, retains moisture, and restores nutrients for healthier crop yields.</td>
            <td>Reduces soil degradation, improves water infiltration, and enhances biodiversity.</td>
            <td>Lower input costs for fertilizers, higher long-term yields, and more resilient farms.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td><strong>Rotational Grazing</strong></td>
            <td>Moving livestock between pastures to prevent overgrazing and promote grass regrowth.</td>
            <td>Encourages healthier soil, which leads to more nutritious and abundant forage for livestock.</td>
            <td>Improves carbon sequestration, enhances soil structure, and supports ecosystem balance.</td>
            <td>Increases farm productivity, reduces veterinary costs, and strengthens local meat and dairy industries.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td><strong>Composting</strong></td>
            <td>Recycling organic waste into nutrient-rich soil amendments.</td>
            <td>Boosts soil fertility, improving plant growth and resistance to pests and diseases.</td>
            <td>Reduces landfill waste, lowers methane emissions, and restores natural soil health.</td>
            <td>Reduces fertilizer costs, supports organic certification, and creates local composting businesses.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td><strong>No-Till Farming</strong></td>
            <td>Minimizing soil disturbance to maintain its structure and microbiome.</td>
            <td>Prevents soil erosion, retains moisture, and encourages deep root growth for stronger crops.</td>
            <td>Increases carbon storage, prevents desertification, and reduces water runoff.</td>
            <td>Reduces fuel and labor costs, improves long-term yields, and stabilizes rural economies.</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td><strong>Agroforestry</strong></td>
            <td>Integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural land for shade, habitat, and soil protection.</td>
            <td>Enhances microclimates, reduces crop stress, and diversifies farm income.</td>
            <td>Increases biodiversity, reduces greenhouse gases, and protects watersheds.</td>
            <td>Creates additional income streams (fruit, nuts, timber), supports pollinators, and strengthens food security.</td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>


In the end, there are a multitude of ways to implement regenerative farming techniques into your current agricultural practices – making regenerative farming a personalized and approachable experience.  

Is regenerative farming a good solution in the midst of climate change?

Regenerative farming is an excellent solution for everyone as global warming and natural disasters continue to threaten food scarcity, the economy, and the business repercussions to be faced by farmers.

Since regenerative farming can help farmers not only avoid, but adjust to the new circumstances associated with climate change – it’s the most quintessential approach to help farmers, businesses, and local communities prepare for the future repercussions and agricultural drawbacks of climate change. 

Is regenerative farming the same thing as climate smart farming?

Yes, in short terms – climate smart farming and regenerative farming are the same thing, as both focus on more ecological and efficient farming techniques aimed to protect the surrounding environment and wildlife while also yielding a productive harvest. 

Both climate smart farming and regenerative farming zone-in on:

Building crop-resilience to extreme weather conditions

Decreasing dependence on pesticides and synthetic fertilizers

Reducing the environmental impact of traditional farming

Overall, regenerative farming serves as a great way for farmers to accommodate for the newfound challenges in agriculture as a result of climate change – and if your business needs help finding ways to employ regenerative farming or other sustainable tactics, third party companies like Greenly are always here to help.

If reading this article on regenerative farming has inspired you to consider your company’s own carbon footprint, Greenly can help.

At Greenly we can help you to assess your company’s carbon footprint, and then give you the tools you need to cut down on emissions. We offer a free demo for you to better understand our platform and all that it has to offer – including assistance on how to reduce emissions, optimize energy efficiency, and more to help you get started on your climate journey.

Learn more about Greenly’s carbon management platform here.

NRDC https://www.nrdc.org/stories/regenerative-agriculture-101 

Noble https://www.noble.org/regenerative-agriculture/ 

Wildlife Trusts https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/vicki-hird/what-regenerative-farming 

Lachlan Hughes Foundation https://lachlanhughesfoundation.org.au/notable-quotes/ 

World Agroforestry https://www.worldagroforestry.org/about/agroforestry

What is PAS 2060, and how does it demonstrate a company’s dedication to carbon neutrality?

What is the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality?

As businesses and organizations around the world race against the clock to try and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, many are seeking the best accreditation to prove their carbon neutrality efforts – and one of those could be the PAS 2060.

What is the PAS 2060, and why is it a respected certification for companies working towards carbon neutrality?

The PAS 2060 standard was initially launched by the British Standards Institution in 2010 with the objective of increasing transparency of carbon neutrality by providing a common definition and recognised method for achieving carbon neutral status.

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What is PAS 2060?

The PAS 2060 is a standard that was published by the British Standards Institution back in 2010, and was modified in 2014 – with a goal in mind to encourage various organizations to illustrate their efforts towards carbon neutrality and establish transparency between businesses and their customers to avoid allegations such as greenwashing. 

The PAS 2060 helps to guide companies on how they can measure, reduce, and offset their carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions – and is specific to their business sector. For example, the PAS 2060 offers insight on how to reduce emissions in relation to business activities, products, services, office buildings, various projects, and attending events that may result in a high rate of emissions. Any company can calculate their carbon footprint and purchase carbon credits or invest in carbon offsetting projects as an attempt to offset their own emissions to be able to say they have achieved carbon neutrality – but the PAS 2060 allows companies to do so efficiently, accurately, and provides the company with a certification to delineate their carbon reduction efforts to other potential partners and customers around the world. 

As more and more companies strive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, acquiring a world-wide recognized certification like the PAS 2060 is more imperative and useful than ever before.

Carbon neutrality is when a company strives to reduce their emissions, as well as contribute to carbon offsetting projects – where as achieving net-zero emissions is when a company alters their business model to reduce their own individual production of carbon emissions to the lowest rate possible, while trying to not rely on carbon offsetting projects to accomplish this. A PAS 2060 can ultimately help a company achieve both carbon neutrality or work towards net-zero emissions.

There are a multitude of benefits to acquiring a PAS 2060. For starters, the PAS 2060 is the only existing certification to be internationally recognized for one’s efforts towards carbon neutrality. Also, the PAS 2060 serves as a guide for companies seeking to numerically define their carbon footprint whilst also encouraging them to decrease their emissions with methodical planning and a compulsory, annual review of their plan. 

The PAS 2060 can help to promote carbon offsetting projects, as the PAS 2060 encourages the use of certified credits to financially contribute to any and all projects that mitigate climate change, or improve upon existing, negative social and environmental circumstances.  

Ultimately, the PAS 2060 can persuade a company to reach their full potential in terms of fighting against climate change, as well as encouraging a company to commit to more volunteer programs to better both society and the environment. In short, the PAS 2060 can help to create a more sustainable and hospitable business environment – which will benefit the business itself in the long run, and open more doors for potential investors, customers, and employees to expand the company and its main mission.

Why are so many companies striving for carbon neutrality with the PAS 2060?

Many nations have dedicated themselves to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, so as a result – many companies around the world have decided to strive towards the same goal. 

However, why do so many companies see the value in being carbon neutral? 

There are many benefits to your company being able to demonstrate their carbon neutrality efforts with a certification like the PAS 2060. Besides the fact that a PAS 2060 helps to show your company’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and in addition, offset external emissions as an effort to contribute to the fight against climate change – becoming carbon neutral can help to improve your green credentials. Acquiring a certification, like an ISO 14001 or a PAS 2060, requires consistent review and improvement on a company’s current sustainability and emission reduction tactics. Therefore, the PAS 2060 can provide your company with the necessary, annual incentive that may be vital to keep the momentum towards reducing emissions going.

Investors, customers, and employees alike are becoming increasingly aware of the importance in associating with a company with strong environmental and social values. Acquiring a PAS 2060 can allow your company to represent itself as a reputable, environmentally friendly business.

Other benefits of achieving carbon neutrality include contributing to the climate change crisis at hand, supporting various environmental projects, and aligning your business to the UNGC’s sustainable development goals. In short, striving for carbon neutrality can create opportunities for your company to receive accreditations like a PAS 2060, ISO 14001, or qualify to join the UN Global Compacts’, “Agenda 2030”. 

What are the requirements for the PAS 2060?

The PAS 2060 offers a four-step guideline to help companies achieve carbon neutrality. These four main principles for the PAS 2060 are measure, reduce, offset, and documentation. 

The first step according to the PAS 2060 is to measure the carbon footprint of the product or service created and executed by the company, and to do so using the globally recognized methods provided by the PAS 2060. 

The PAS 2060 recommends that organizations use the carbon calculation methods provided by an ISO 14064-1 or a Greenhouse Gas Corporate Protocol. The PAS 2060 also delineates that the calculated carbon footprint should include all of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, as well as any scope 3 emissions that add up to more than one percent of the company’s total carbon footprint in order to find the best method to reduce the company’s overall emissions.

Emissions are divided into categories called “scopes”. Scope 1 emissions are any emissions that come directly from the company itself, such as industrialization production or use of in-house vehicles. Scope 2 emissions come from energy that is consumed or emitted by the company, such as from rented or leased office spaces or the electricity necessary to run heavy equipment like central heating or air conditioning. Scope 3 emissions are all other miscellaneous emissions that come from activities done outside of the company, but still by the company's choice: such as business travel, transportation, or the use of raw materials.  

Only after the company has precisely measured their emissions, can they create a personalized plan to reduce them.

The second step delineated in the plan to achieve carbon neutrality by PAS 2060 is to reduce emissions. All companies should establish a “Carbon Footprint Management Plan” suited to their society in order to cultivate a communal dedication to carbon neutrality. The main strategies used for reduction according to the PAS 2060 include the use of a time-scale, creating specific targets for emissions reductions with deadlines included, and how the company can offset external emissions.  

If this plan is implemented into a company’s business plan well, it should lead to efficacious results in emissions reductions. 

The PAS 2060 entails that all residual emissions should be offset by carbon credits that are high quality and certified. The standards set for carbon credits as stated by the PAS 2060 include that the carbon credits are an approved activity by the PAS 2060, that the financial contribution would aid the project in a manner that would have been impossible without the purchase of the carbon credit, that the carbon credits are verified by a third party, and that the credits are removed from public records annually. 

These offsetting activities must be done by the company in order to achieve carbon neutrality. It is crucial to remember that offsetting activities and the purchasing of carbon credits are not viable methods to obtain a PAS 2060 certification alone. All companies must strive to reduce their own emissions in addition to contributing to the offsetting of external emissions, such as carbon offsetting projects or carbon credits. 

The last step in the PAS 2060 to achieve carbon neutrality is to document and verify the previous steps listed above. In order to verify the previous steps in the PAS 2060, a declaration of statements otherwise known as “Qualifying Explanatory Statements'', or QES – must be made. Public disclosure is compulsory in order to establish transparency, and must be included in this statement. 

If a company seeking to be accredited by the PAS 2060 is lacking in experience, they should be vilignet to double check their footprint – as miscalculations could cause more mishaps down the line across multi various sectors. This is why ensuring that all previous carbon credit purchases and Qualifying Explanatory Statements are reviewed by a third party is imperative, so that the company’s future carbon neutrality status can be fairly promoted and prevent allegations like greenwashing. 

Once all of these steps are completed, a company can then qualify to be PAS 2060 certified and promote their carbon neutral label.

How can you contribute to carbon neutrality without the PAS 2060?

If you and your company are seeking to become carbon neutral, the PAS 2060 is the best way to go – as it provides an internationally recognized guideline on how to reduce emissions and provides the incentive many companies lack to fight against climate change.

But how can you strive towards carbon neutrality in your day-to-day life?

Small things can really add up: like trying meat-less mondays or opting for plant-based means whenever possible, improving the energy efficiency in your own home with new household appliances, traveling sustainably whenever possible by avoiding the use of gasoline-powered cars and choosing public transportation such as the metro instead, and by spreading the word – sustainability doesn’t have to be hard, and it can make a difference in the future of our planet. 

The PAS 2060 is valuable, but it’s important to not discard the worth of our daily actions and how they can be altered to reduce our global carbon footprint.

Is the PAS 2060 ultimately worth it for your business?

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