这种温室气体测量模型可能是农业行业的游戏改变者

This article series is sponsored by Smithfield Foods and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

There is a good reason why Smithfield Foods was the first major protein company to measure its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The protein supply chain is front-loaded with GHGs long before livestock arrives at the processing facility. A lack of uniformity among suppliers adds another layer of complexity to the already daunting task of tracking emissions.

Nevertheless, Smithfield has plunged into the effort, backed by a pledge to reduce its absolute GHG emissions 25 percent by 2025, compared to a 2010 baseline. That includes everything in the supply chain, from hog feed to the finished pork products and the transportation in between.

如果这听起来像是一个雄心勃勃的挑战，那就是。收益可能同样令人印象深刻。史密斯菲尔德及其合作者创建了一个可以在整个肉类加工行业中使用的测量模型。

Applied nationally, and globally, the impact would be significant. Smithfield alone expects to reduce its绝对温室气体排放超过400万吨，或者通过其“ 25 by'25”承诺，相当于将90万辆汽车带走。

Not too long ago, that would have been a nearly impossible task. Today it’s a different story. Biogas digesters and other emissions-reducing systems are now mainstream technologies. Just as importantly, a deep well of sustainability research and expertise is at hand.

史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）努力的合作者包括非营利性环境国防基金（EDF）和明尼苏达大学的北极星可持续企业倡议, which developed the GHG measurement model.

Rylie Pelton, a post doctorate associate at the university, explains how this collaboration connects the private sector with fact-based insights into their operations: “NorthStar is about applied science. We talk with companies like Smithfield that are interested in sustainability and figuring out what challenges they are facing. Our part is the research to overcome those challenges.”

没有基于事实的研究，善意的公司就可以采取一种命中率或失败的方法来减少温室气体排放。Northstar帮助确定基于影响的行动优先级。

当史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）合作于2016年开始时，北极星（Northstar）必须从头开始。史密斯菲尔德的饲料供应商缺乏知名度是一个主要的并发症。史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）从合同农场（Contrent Farms）收到了一部分猪供应，因此对不同的猪供应商进行分类。北极星还认识到有必要提炼数据收集和分析更精确。该研究所以前曾为国家猪肉委员会（National Pork Board）进行了全国供应链研究，但这只是新研究的起点。

史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）的Northstar模型依赖于公司运营中的实际数据，而不是行业估计。结果，该模型可以直接追踪特定的细节，直到单个进料厂的能力及其饲料混合物的能力。

“For example, if your North Carolina facility purchases hogs from an operation in a particular county, and that operation purchases feed from several other counties, we can see what part of the supply chain drives emissions,” Pelton explains. The model enables Smithfield to track water resource impacts, too.

沼气机会

毫不奇怪，一个像拇指酸痛一样伸出的元素是猪粪便中的甲烷排放。佩尔顿说，这一领域的改善将产生重大影响。

史密斯菲尔德还对减少温室气体排放的期望也很高through improved manure management. The organization foresees significant bottom-line benefits as well.

在去年12月的博客文章中，EDF总结了史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）采取的步骤：“史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）于今年秋天早些时候宣布，它将投资数亿美元的基础设施，这些基础设施将肥料甲烷排放转换为可再生天然气。这项新技术将安装在史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）90％的猪饰面空间中，北卡罗来纳州和犹他州；在密苏里州几乎所有人。总体而言，该公司将捕获全国1000多个农场的排放。”

通常，现场使用农业运营的沼气。史密斯菲尔德的方法更雄心勃勃。正如EDF所描述的那样，该公司已与Dominion Energy合作，一家耗资2.5亿美元的合资企业称为对齐可再生天然气（RNG）这将使沼气从肥料到北卡罗来纳州，犹他州和弗吉尼亚州的天然气分配网格，在那里可以在那里被住宅和商业客户在现场使用。分销合作伙伴关系是成功的主要关键。

Pelton notes that it is difficult to incentivize farmers to invest in manure covers and biogas digesters. The new Align RNG venture provides that incentive by enabling farmers to tap into a potential new revenue stream. In effect, it monetizes manure biogas through aggregation. According to a Smithfield contract farmer, that revenue could run每年高达70,000美元for an individual farm.

It’s complicated

粪便管理也只是史密斯菲尔德（Smithfield）开展的工作的一部分。该公司正在与EDF合作，以减少谷物农场的一氧化二氮排放。通过提高饲料转化效率来减少碳排放是另一个目标。

该公司还针对其加工厂的能源效率升级，包括制冷和锅炉设备，并正在努力减少其运输链中的碳排放。

Pelton also notes that Smithfield has some interesting choices to make regarding downstream impacts. For example, emissions can be reduced at the consumer end by adding more pre-cooked items to the product line, but that could make it more difficult to reduce emissions at the processing plant.

As for NorthStar, Pelton emphasizes that the model they develop with Smithfield can be used by any company in the pork industry. Beyond that, NorthStar is using lessons learned from the Smithfield collaboration to build a supply chain model that can be applied to poultry and wheat crops on an industrywide basis.

总而言之，史密斯菲尔德的努力展示了协作的力量。通过以共同的目标共同努力，私营部门，研究界和环保组织可以分解看似不可能的任务，并为快速，有效地对碳排放的迅速采取行动创造新的途径。188bet网址怎么打不开

Image courtesy of Smithfield Foods