Carbon audits now taking place at a Herefordshire Farms

Nine of 30 farm carbon audits have now taken place in Herefordshire as part of the county’s drive to reach net zero by 2030.

The innovative audits, which have been organised by the Herefordshire Council Sustainability and Climate Change team and funded by Herefordshire Council’s Climate Reserve, aim to help farmers understand the carbon footprint of their farms. This includes both direct emissions from activities such as livestock production and fuel use, and indirect emissions from purchased inputs such as fertilisers and energy.

This will help farm managers to identify opportunities to reduce emissions and increase the farm’s overall efficiency, potentially leading to cost savings and improved business profitability – as well as helping to tackle climate change. The first audit took place at the Hereford Estate and was well received by the farm manager, who commented that the process had been “much easier than expected”.

The 30 farms based across Herefordshire that are receiving carbon audits were selected following an open Expression of Interest process in partnership with the NFU and Farm Herefordshire. The audits are being carried out by independent consultants 4R Reassurance and will all take place between March and June 2023 with a follow up audit between January and June 2026.

This project is part of the Greener Footprints campaign – Herefordshire Climate and Nature Board’s strategy to help the county reach net zero by 2030. For more information visit the Zero Carbon Herefordshire website or search Greener Footprints Herefordshire on social media.