Aligning with IPCC Tier 1, 2, 3 - the core of Agrecalc calculations
Agrecalc is Platform-as-a-Service carbon footprinting software. Our calculation software transforms farm level data into emissions estimates, carbon sequestration figures, and key performance indicators.
The carbon footprinting calculator in agriculture relies on equations published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UK Government to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from all major on-farm and upstream sources, returning these estimates in the form of simple tables and charts.
The table below represents an overview of Agrecalc features and their alignment with IPCC tier 1, 2, 3 methodologies:
- Agrecalc is aligned with IPCC (2019) Tiers 1, 2 and 3 methodologies across the calculator. We are PAS 2050:2011 compliant and are broadly aligned with the main industry related carbon frameworks: ISO 14064 and ISO 14067, GHG Protocol, and FLAG SBTi. We are moving towards full alignment with industry standards as part of ISO accreditation in 2025 to ISO14064 and ISO14067.
- We include GWP* as a separate (elective) metric alongside traditional GWP100 reporting metrics.
- We continue to report to AR5 standard, and will move to AR6 when this is standard for UK Government reporting.
- For embedded emissions, we are Tier 2: energy use (UK Govt conversion factors), fertiliser manufacture (Fertilizers Europe, 2018), feed databases (GFLI).
- Carbon footprinting methods are categorised into tiers of increasing detail and specificity. Most of our calculations fall into Tier2, with some Tier 1 and Tier 3 elements:
Farm Activity | Is it in Agrecalc Cloud? | IPCC calculation tier |
Arable and Grassland | Yes. | Mix of tier 1 and 2 calculations. For UK farms, tier 3 equations are used for nutrient application. |
Beef | Yes. | Tier 2 |
Yes. | Tier 2 | |
Yes. | Tier 2 | |
Poultry | Yes. | Tier 2 |
Anaerobic Digestion | Yes. | Tier 2 |
Feed methane inhibitors | Yes. | Tier 3 |
Nitrification / Urease inhibitors | Yes. | Tier 3 |
Hedges | Yes. | Tier 1; pending tier 2 update 2025 |
Woodlands | Yes. | Tier 1; pending tier 2 update 2025 |
Soil carbon | Yes. Publishing of update imminent. | Tier 1; pending tier 2 update 2025 |
Peatland | Pending initial release 2024 | Tier 1 |
Agroforestry | Pending further release 2025 | Tier 1 |
Feed Ration module | Pending further release 2025 | Tier 2 |
Ammonia Module | Pending further release 2025 | Tier 3 |