NEWS FROM REAL RESEARCH HUB

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REAL Appoints Contractor for Project on ‘Carbon accounting for Compost and Digestate’

Posted: 5 July, 2023. Written by Megan Muller-Girard

The REAL Research Hub is pleased to announce that AECOM has been awarded the contract to deliver the project entitled How the benefits of applying compost and digestate to soils can be accounted for under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.

AECOM was awarded the contract following a competitive tender process and commenced work on the project in June. The project is expected to be completed in Autumn 2023.

The project has two key objectives:

1. To demonstrate to compost producers and AD operators the benefits of engaging with the GHG Protocol as a key step towards understanding their commercial activities within the global imperative to minimise climate-warming emissions. 
2. To provide guidance to operators on how to account for the production and application of compost and digestate under the GHG Protocol. 

This project will culminate in a report containing the key findings of the work, including:

• The development of a matrix for use in calculating emissions and/or reductions
• Six quantified examples of the likely impact of producing and applying compost & digestate to soils (e.g., green and food waste-derived compost, waste digestate, crop digestate, etc.)
• Practical guidance for producers/operators considering incorporating carbon accounting into their operations.

AECOM will also deliver two online workshops for compost producers and AD operators to highlight the value of engaging with the GHG Protocol and to gain industry perspectives to inform the worked examples and guidance produced for the project.

To learn more about this project and/or if you are interested in attending the workshops with AECOM, please contact megan@realschemes.org.uk for more information.