True Carbon-Neutral Carrots

Solving global warming takes more than just trees

Freshgrowers, a vegetable cooperative based in Nottinghamshire, has produced the world's first carbon-neutral carrots. The group, which supplies Chantenay carrots grown within 15 miles of its packhouse to supermarkets and catering customers across the UK, worked with Campbell-Gibbons Consulting, Intellync-Sustain and Carbon Neutral Britain to calculate the carbon footprint of its Chantenay carrot production.

The analysis revealed that the production and harvesting of the 2021/22 Chantenay crop resulted in just 363 tonnes of carbon equivalent (CO2e) for 12,500 tonnes of carrots, a carbon footprint of 0.03 grams of CO2e per kilogram of carrots. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions was fuel used in field operations (77%), with the remaining emissions produced by fertiliser, crop protection products, and the incorporation of crop residues into soil. The carbon measurement and offset exercise will be repeated annually, with the next audit due in spring 2023.