Calculation principles

Since the start of the programme, we at Lantmännen have worked on the basis of a number of principles. Partly to make the program more understandable, partly to create real benefits in the form of climate reduction and to ensure that we do not promise more than we can keep. The following is a description of these principles.

The criteria in the programme are updated regularly

The goal of Climate & Nature is to transition to more sustainable and productive agriculture with a view to climate neutrality by 2050, all in accordance with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. According to the Paris Agreement, we need to halve emissions every ten years until 2050, so as not to exceed a global warming of 1.5 degrees. This creates a clear path forward and means that we need to continuously add new criteria to the program to follow the halving rate of emissions and reduce the climate impact from cultivation. In addition, new research leads to new innovative solutions for agriculture, both in terms of climate change but also increased biodiversity, reduced eutrophication and reduced need for plant protection, for example. Research and innovation are an important part of the further development of the actions within the programme.

Our reference year is based on Climate & Nature's start year 2015

The programme started in 2015. When we communicate the effect of Climate & Nature to broad consumer groups, we always refer to the climate reduction in relation to the program's starting point, which is the conventional grain cultivation in Sweden in 2015. We have chosen that reference year to clarify the development and progress of the programme over the years. Since conventional cultivation in Sweden is developing year by year, a comparison with conventional cultivation would result in different results in different years and thus make it more difficult to follow the development of the program over time. 

When we communicate the climate footprint of Climate & Nature, expressed in kgCO2eper tonne of grain, to customers or stakeholders, it is important to state the climate reduction that has actually been created in that particular harvest year. This means that we then compare Climate & Nature against conventional cultivation for the same harvest year. 

The Role of Productivity in the Future of Agriculture

A fundamental prerequisite for achieving the Agriculture of the Future is increased productivity. This is because the population is growing globally and food production must be enough for more people in the future. Productivity also affects the climate impact per tonne of grain produced . Increased efficiency and productivity means that more grain volume can be produced on the same area with the same or smaller amount of inputs, which lowers the cost of grain climate impact in general terms. It is therefore necessary to reduce the climate impact with measures on farms, without affecting productivity.

We contract farmers per hectare

Within Climate & Nature, Lantmännen signs contracts with farmers who cultivate according to the programme. The farmer commits to cultivating a certain amount of hectares according to the programme and is also compensated per hectare cultivated according to Climate & Nature's measures. Contracting per hectare means that the farmer receives a stable compensation for additional costs associated with cultivation according to the program, regardless of the harvest outcome. This lowers the barrier for the individual farmer to join the program and leads to more farmers being given the opportunity to change.

Contracted farmers receive an extra payment based on the number of hectares cultivated according to Climate & Nature. The payment is thus separate from the compensation that the farmer receives for the volume of grain itself (normally calculated in terms of price per tonne).

We handle the grain according to the mass balance principle

When the farmer has delivered grain grown according to Climate & Nature, the grain is mixed with other, conventionally grown grain at the grain reception. This is because the criteria in the program do not affect the quality or sensory characteristics of the grains, i.e. you do not experience any quality or nutritional difference between the grains grown inside and outside the program. 

The grain is thus handled according to the mass balance principle, which means that it is not separated through the chain from silo to final product. Traceability throughout the chain would significantly increase the cost as it would require investment in a new silo structure and/or the need to transport grain over longer distances. The increased cost that this entails would have to be passed on to the consumer and thus reduce consumer demand for Climate & Nature. Lantmännen balances how much has been grown according to the program, and ensures that we do not sell more than the cultivated volume until the current harvest year. The management of the mass balance is reviewed and audited by third parties. If you as a consumer buy a product connected to Climate & Nature, you can feel confident that the volume of grain required to produce the product has been grown according to the program and the climate benefit has been created. 

We calculate on average harvests

When Lantmännen sells Climate & Nature to its customers, we do so in the volume of grain or processed raw material (e.g. flour). We convert hectares to tonnes by using an average yield for the regions where Climate & Nature is grown, based on data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture and Statistics Sweden. The average harvest is based on the seven most recent harvests, excluding the highest and lowest harvests during the interval, and is an average of the five remaining harvests. We use an average value of five harvests as the harvests can vary greatly between different harvest years, which affects the climate benefit per tonne of grain despitethe fact that exactly the same measures and work have been carried out on the farm. 

Averages depend on area and time

In the climate calculations for Climate & Nature, templates and averages are currently used, similar to the average harvest. These averages vary depending on the area or time period you choose to investigate. If you take the average harvest as an example, it varies depending on which area in Sweden you grow in.   Because of this, we follow how Climate & Nature performs locally, but also how the program performs on average for the whole country. The average harvest is also greatly affected by the years selected, as the harvest levels vary due to weather and climate.

Focus on reducing emissions, not offsetting

Climate & Nature contains climate-reducing measures and no climate-compensating measures. This means, for example, that we replace fossil fuels on farms with fossil-free ones, thus reducing the farm's climate impact. The emission reduction measures implemented within Climate & Nature always take place within the cereal farming value chain. 

We have chosen to focus first and foremost on the phasing out of fossil energy rather than, for example, sequestering carbon in arable land. Carbon sequestration is also an important tool, but it is partly more difficult to calculate and partly problematic to determine the lasting effect of (i.e. to ensure that the carbon is not released into the atmosphere again at any later time). Therefore, we have started by including reductions that we are sure will occur. However, carbon sequestration is an area that is being developed and Lantmännen is contributing with further research.