Building on university research confirming greenhouse gas emission reductions from using its indoor growing technologies, CubicFarm Systems Corp., a leading local chain agricultural technology company, announced that its HydroGreen division has entered into an agreement with Deloitte LLP to develop a carbon commercialization program designed to provide high-quality carbon credits to a fast-growing global market.
HydroGreen’s commercial scale Automated Vertical Pastures™ technology helps meet increasing demand for valuable farm-based inset and offset carbon credits from all manner of organizations with net-zero goals. HydroGreen will be uniquely positioned to supply carbon credits through the Company’s agreement with Deloitte.
New research data demonstrates that feeding cows fresh livestock feed grown indoors in the Company’s Automated Vertical Pastures™ significantly reduces methane emissions.
- Feeding dairy cows HydroGreen fresh forage lowers methane emissions by approximately 24 per cent on a per unit milk output basis. As a greenhouse gas (“GHG”), methane’s 100-year global warming potential is up to 34 times greater than that of CO2. Measured over a 20-year period, that ratio more than doubles.
- Preliminary studies of beef cattle have demonstrated up to approximately 48 per cent lower methane emissions on a per kilogram weight gain basis.
- Overall, every cow fed HydroGreen fresh forage reduces methane emissions by about one metric tonne of CO2 equivalents, per year, per animal.
- HydroGreen further cuts GHG emissions by reducing the number of acres needed to grow feed crops, which in turn eliminates the need to till, fertilize, and irrigate those lands, as well as ship feed long distances.
HydroGreen is working with Deloitte’s world-class advisory team to further quantify the extent to which Automated Vertical Pastures™ can deliver carbon insets and offsets. Third-party standards, such as Verra, can then be used to monetize GHG emission reductions by converting them into tradeable carbon credits.
“With about a third of global methane emissions coming from livestock, this data validates the GHG-reducing power of local chain ag-tech like never before,” said Dan Schmidt, President, HydroGreen. “HydroGreen is unrivaled in the plant science and animal performance benefits of its automated indoor growing system for fresh forage. We’re excited to develop HydroGreen’s carbon program with Deloitte and ultimately make a huge difference in reducing global methane levels one cow at a time, every year, for years to come.”
“We’re thrilled to develop a carbon program for HydroGreen by leveraging our extensive background in carbon management for agriculture and livestock,” said Nathan Steeghs, a Partner in Deloitte’s Sustainability & Climate Change practice. “We need to focus on tech solutions that can help close the emissions gap in getting to net-zero and we believe in investing in solutions that are commercially viable today and technologies that have the potential to unlock significant carbon reductions for future generations.”