AIA EAP Help Centre

The AIA EAP is a definitive carbon calculation engine for Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors. The first of its kind, it enables the calculation of a carbon footprint at a commodity, enterprise and whole of business level. It is a national-scale, pre-competitive solution, which provides Australian producers and their supply chains with an accessible and standardised approach to carbon accounting across multiple commodities.

The AIA EAP provides a reliable and consistent reference point to support the entire supply chain with understanding agricultural carbon emissions. Producers: Producers can use the AIA EAP to understand their carbon footprint across multiple commodities and use scenario planning to assist with decision-making around reducing carbon emissions and capturing new business opportunities. You can access it via channels you already use and trust, including your existing farm management software and service providers or your rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs). If your software/service provider is not listed, you can send them to this website so that they can find out how to integrate. Individual producers can also access the AIA EAP via the Login to AIA EAP button on this website. Supply chain and solution providers Farm and management solution providers, supply chain participants, agribusiness, financial institutions and others can integrate with the AIA EAP engine and/or build it into their own service offerings. Contact us via the form below to find out how.

Australian producers are under increasing pressure to be able to calculate and measure their on-farm carbon emissions to meet the requirements of their financial lenders and supply chains, as well as ensure access to international markets. With many supply chains having 2030 emissions targets, producers can prepare by using the AIA EAP to know their carbon emissions numbers and scenario plan to assist in understanding how to lower it.

Scope 1 Direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting entity. Examples for agricultural enterprises include enteric methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from applied fertiliser. Scope 2 Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heating or cooling consumed by an entity. Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated. Scope 3 Indirect greenhouse gas emissions (not included in Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions) that occur in the value chain of an entity, including both upstream (pre-farm) and downstream (post-farm gate) emissions. Examples include purchased goods, employee commuting, downstream processing, transport and distribution. For agricultural products, we typically include pre-farm emissions but the boundary for the analysis is typically the farm gate (unless the analysis is based on a finished product like a bottle of wine).

Knowing your number is the first step. You can use scenario planning in the AIA EAP by changing your input data to see the impact it may have on your emissions. Producers can utilise their RDC’s research and resources around emissions reduction practices to improve their footprint.

Producers can access the AIA EAP via channels they already use and trust including: · Their rural Research and Development Corporations · Existing software and service providers If your software/service provider is not listed, you can send them to this site to find out how to integrate. Individual producers can also access the AIA EAP via the Login to the AIA EAP button on this website.

Farm and business solution providers, supply chain participants, agribusiness, financial institutions and others can integrate with the engine via Application Programming Interface (API) and build it into their own service offerings. If you would like to find out more, complete the contact form at the bottom of this page.

Beef, sheep, grains, cotton, pork, poultry, eggs, sugar, feedlot, deer, goats and buffalo are currently available. Dairy, horticulture, fish, aquaculture, wine, rice and forestry will be available shortly.

Agricultural Innovation Australia Ltd (AIA). As a not-for-profit company, AIA is ideally placed to own and manage the IP, infrastructure and governance of the AIA EAP on behalf of industry. AIA was established by Australia’s 15 rural Research and Development Corporations, which span the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries. Its mandate enables it to look across commodities and facilitate collaboration to solve big, cross-sectoral challenges such as environmental accounting. AIA identifies, develops and invests in strategies that deliver transformative outcomes to drive sustainability, productivity and profitability across Australian agricultural value chains.

Data privacy and security are at the core of the design of the AIA EAP. Users with an AIA EAP account can opt-in to share their own data with whomever they choose, such as existing service providers, consultants, banks and supply chains, as well as to share de-identified and aggregated data for research purposes. AIA will only access de-identified and aggregated data for the purposes of providing the carbon footprinting service, improving the algorithms and for developing insights to support more effective industry decision-making and strategy development.

The AIA EAP does not compete with other carbon calculators in the market. It is an engine that enables a common and standardised approach to environmental accounting, starting with carbon footprint calculations. It can be used by any existing or future carbon calculation providers to ensure an accurate carbon footprint that reflects the latest science and research. Cross-sectoral It is the first truly cross-sectoral engine, providing an accessible and standardised approach to carbon footprinting across multiple commodities. Built to evolve The AIA EAP is built on a flexible and extensible architecture which can enable new and additional calculators, as well as other emerging accounting frameworks, such as natural capital, to be added over time. A definitive, pre-competitive engine for everyone The AIA EAP is designed to be a national-scale solution, making it a reliable and consistent reference point to support the entire supply chain with understanding agricultural carbon emissions. Producers can use the AIA EAP to understand their carbon footprint across multiple commodities and use it for scenario planning to assist with decision-making around reducing emissions and capturing new business opportunities. Farm and business solution providers, supply chain participants, agribusiness, financial institutions and others can integrate with the AIA EAP engine and build it into their own service offerings Backed by science and industry A panel of leading Australian experts in GHG accounting, emissions reduction, soil carbon management and climate science, ensures the AIA EAP is up to date and is consistent with relevant Australian standards, research and protocols. It was built by AIA with investment from several of Australia’s rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), including Grains Research and Development Corporation, Meat & Livestock Australia, Australian Eggs, Australian Pork Limited, AgriFutures Australia, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Sugar Research Australia and Wine Australia.

AIA has started with the University of Melbourne Greenhouse Accounting Frameworks for Australian Primary Industries (GAF) and digitised and aggregated them into a common platform. These are consistent with Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reporting protocol, the GHG protocol and consistent with relevant ISO standards. However, the platform is flexible and extensible to enable new and additional calculators and models, as well as other emerging accounting frameworks, such as natural capital, to be added over time.

AIA established a Technical Advisory Panel of leading Australian experts in greenhouse gas accounting, emissions reduction, soil carbon management, lifecycle assessment and climate science. The Panel's role is to advise on best practice and ensure the calculation models align with the latest science and are consistent with relevant national standards and protocols. The Technical Advisory Panel includes: Professor Richard Eckard (CHAIR) - Professor and Director of the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre, University of Melbourne Professor Peter Grace - Professor of Global Change, Queensland University of Technology Dr Annette Cowie - Senior Principal Research Scientist, Climate at the NSW Department of Primary Industries Dr Dan Zwartz - Agriculture sector lead for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Emissions Reduction Division of the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Producers The AIA EAP has simplified the complex, time consuming and confusing process of calculating carbon emissions. Producers are now able to enter data once to achieve a whole of enterprise carbon footprint across multiple commodities. They can baseline their enterprise as well as use scenario planning to aid decision-making around reducing carbon emissions and capturing new opportunities. It is accessible via channels producers already use and trust, including their rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) and their existing software and service providers. Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry industry Having a single source of truth will be an asset for the industry as a whole and will help support a united Australian narrative around carbon emissions and emissions reduction. The AIA EAP’s standardised, whole of agriculture, fisheries and forestry approach will help Australia avoid the fragmentation, duplication and inconsistencies seen in other markets that have a proliferation of carbon calculators. In what is a rapidly evolving and complex carbon and environmental accounting market space, the AIA EAP will also help the sector navigate this complexity by identifying emerging standards and research and making them consistent, common and accessible. Supply chain The AIA EAP provides a reliable and consistent reference point to support the entire supply chain with understanding agricultural emissions, starting with carbon. Farm and business solution providers, supply chain participants, agribusiness, financial institutions and others can integrate with the engine and build it into their own service offerings.

It was built by Agricultural Innovation Australia with investment from several of Australia’s rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), including Grains Research and Development Corporation, Meat & Livestock Australia, Australian Eggs, Australian Pork Limited, AgriFutures Australia, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Sugar Research Australia and Wine Australia.

While there has been much work at a scientific and academic level to understand the carbon footprint of agricultural commodities, tools are not readily accessible by growers and industry. Carbon accounting is often confusing and cumbersome. The current default methods for measurement are spreadsheets which take time and often require a level of expertise to complete. On top of this, these spreadsheets are commodity-specific, meaning mixed-enterprises cannot easily measure their entire carbon footprint. Producers, and their industries, need to be able to baseline performance, calculate their carbon footprint and make more informed decisions on how to drive environmental and economic returns. And, in other countries, a lack of a standardised approach to carbon accounting has led to fragmentation, with a proliferation of carbon calculators and inconsistent outcomes. The AIA EAP aims to overcome those challenges, providing Australia with an accessible and standardised approach to carbon accounting.

AIA worked closely with its RDC partners in the development stage. It undertook an extensive discovery phase in 2022-23, including interviews with over 140 stakeholders, including producers across multiple commodities. An in-depth analysis of carbon calculation tools, models and frameworks used in Australia and around the world was also undertaken, as well as an international market analysis. This found three key challenges: 1. Producers often find carbon accounting confusing and cumbersome. The current default methods for measurement are spreadsheets which often require a level of expertise to complete. 2. Carbon calculators must be constantly maintained and updated to ensure alignment with the latest research, relevant national standards and protocols. 3. There is a lack of a consistent, standardised national approach to carbon accounting, which can lead to fragmentation and a proliferation of calculators, as seen in other countries. In developing their solution, AIA engaged with Australia's leading experts in greenhouse gas accounting, emissions reduction, soil carbon management, lifecycle assessment and climate science. These experts form the AIA EAP Technical Advisory Panel. AIA also engaged extensively with producers, RDCs and the supply chain throughout the development of the AIA EAP, including a thorough user experience and beta-launch period to test the usability and accuracy of the calculations.