Practical sustainability assessment workshop

Event Date : September 24, 2014

Sustainability assessment and carbon footprinting for dairy farmers

Location: The Organic Research Centre, Elm Farm, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 0HR

This workshop will provide an overview of sustainability assessment methods and the various carbon footprinting tools available for dairy farmers. New methods for including soil carbon changes and biodiversity indicators within sustainability assessments will also be presented.

The day will consist of a mix of practical sessions (i.e. trying out existing tools and methods), feedback sessions and speaker presentations. A draft programme is presented below:

Morning session:

• Introduction to the Sustainable, Organic and Low Input Dairying (SOLID) project
• Overview of sustainability assessment methods and carbon footprinting tools
• Results from the carbon footprinting of European organic dairy farms
• Practical session: comparing carbon calculators using own data or example farms

Afternoon session:

• Including soil carbon changes and biodiversity in the environmental assessment
• Practical session: assessing soil carbon and biodiversity using own data or example farms
• Feedback and group discussion: which methods and calculators are most useful and/or easy to use?

We hope that you will be able to attend to obtain an overview of the methods and tools available and to contribute to the group discussions. Please confirm attendance at this event by submitting the booking form to Gillian Woodward at the Organic Research Centre. Places are limited so please register soon to secure a place. A light lunch will be provided

Download the flyer here