One metric is currently in progress:

• Greenhouse Gas: Soil Emissions

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Highlights are below; for additional information, please contact us via form at the bottom of the page.

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Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

For SISC GHG measurement addresses the GHG emissions associated with five components:

1. fuel use;

2. electricity use;

3. fertilizer production;

4. N2O emissions; and,

5. soil C storage.

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Items numbered 1-3 above are currently covered by the SISC Energy Metric with GHG translator.  This metric is complete and ready to use now in the SISC Stewardship Calculator, which is free for growers to use.

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And, items numbered 4-5 will be addressed with a new measurement tool specific to GHG's related to soil.  This is in development.

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The metric was challenged by which tool to use to account for the N2O and soil C components. SISC is currently exploring a partnership with USDA and Colorado State to upgrade/adapt a version of Comet Planner to provide a baseline, and then allow specialty crop growers to measure improvements over time.  This project is in its early stages in Spring of 2021.  Stay tuned for details over the next year.

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Ultimately, this would provide growers with two GHG metrics - one for on farm energy use and a second for on farm soil emissions/improvements towards sequestration.  Breaking this into two metrics will support growers to use the metrics as management tools.  Combined, they can also allow for a comprehensive GHG footprint number as well.

 

Draft Metric:

Tons CO2e / Tons harvested

 

SISC Vision

SISC's founding vision was ambitious: to develop a system for measuring performance throughout the specialty crops supply chain—from farm to plate. Based on the direction of current participants, the first five Working Metrics focus more narrowly on on-farm resource use. Still, SISC leadership remains committed to developing metrics that address performance across the supply chain, and/or to align with other metrics-driven initiatives seeking to do so.

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