Contact/s:
Annie Soulier
annie.soulier@ifip.asso.fr
GEEP - An Environmental Assessment Tool for Pig Farming in France
France
Temperate Climate
- Environmental assessment of pig farming
- Good environmental practices
- Decision-making tool
Thematic Areas
Production System/s
Summary for Practicioners on the Main Finding(s)/Innovative solution(s)
Since 2014, IFIP (the French technical institute for the pig industry) has been providing French pig farmers with the GEEP calculation tool to assess the environmental performance of their workshops. GEEP is also a network of over 900 pig farmers and around 130 advisors. The environmental balance sheet is based on nine quantitative indicators covering the consumption of natural resources (water and energy), emissions (nitrogen and phosphorus), gaseous emissions (ammonia and greenhouse gases), and waste production. These indicators are calculated using the environmental flows from the farm divided by the kilograms of pigs produced on the farm (e.g., kg of NH₃ per kg of pigs produced).
For greenhouse gas emissions, the scope considers the entire pig production cycle using an LCA (life cycle assessment) approach, with the indicator expressed per kg of live weight. This type of indicator enables farmers to compare their performance with other farms in the same sector and collective benchmarks. GEEP is connected to the national technical-economic database managed by IFIP, which saves time when entering individual data and ensures the robustness of the information.
This tool is sensitive to several levers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers can enter the formulation of the feed they use, selecting the raw feedstuffs and their origin to calculate the feed’s carbon footprint as accurately as possible. It incorporates several best practices in the effluent management chain, including the frequency of effluent evacuation from buildings, different storage methods, and methanization. The results also consider the technical performance of each physiological stage. GEEP is a comprehensive tool designed to support farmers in their efforts toward continuous improvement.
Summary for Practicioners in Native Language
Depuis 2014, l’IFIP (institut technique de la filière porcine) met à disposition des éleveurs de porcs français, l’outil de calcul GEEP, pour évaluer les performances environnementales de leur atelier. GEEP c’est aussi un réseau qui regroupe plus de 900 éleveurs porcins et environ 130 conseillers. Le bilan environnemental s’appuie sur 9 indicateurs quantitatifs portant sur les consommations de ressources naturelles (eau et énergie), les rejets (azote et phosphore), les émissions gazeuses (ammoniac et gaz à effet de serre) et la production de déchets. Ces indicateurs sont calculés avec les flux environnementaux de l’élevage divisés par les kilogrammes de porc générés sur l’élevage (ex : kg de NH3/ kg de porc produit).
Pour les émissions de gaz à effets de serre, le périmètre prend en compte l’ensemble du cycle de production de porc dans une approche par ACV (analyse de cycle de vie), l’indicateur est alors exprimé par kg de poids vif. Ce type d’indicateur permet aux éleveurs de se comparer à d’autres élevages de même orientation et de se positionner par rapport à des références collectives. GEEP est connecté à la base nationale de données technico-économiques gérée par l’IFIP, ce qui représente un gain de temps pour la saisie des données individuelles et un gage de robustesse de l’information. Cet outil est sensible à de nombreux leviers de réduction d’émissions de GES. L’éleveur peut renseigner la formulation de l’aliment consommé en choisissant les matières premières et leur origine, pour calculer au plus juste l’empreinte carbone de celui-ci. Il intègre de nombreuses bonnes pratiques sur la chaine de gestion des effluents : fréquence d’évacuation des effluents au bâtiment, différentes modalités de stockage, méthanisation… Les résultats prennent également en compte les performances techniques de chaque stade physiologique. GEEP est un outil complet pour accompagner l’éleveur dans une démarche d’amélioration continue.
Longer Description
Since 2014, IFIP (the French technical institute for the pig industry) has been providing French pig farmers with the GEEP calculation tool to assess the environmental performance of their workshops. GEEP is also a network of over 900 pig farmers and around 130 advisors. The environmental balance sheet is based on nine quantitative indicators covering the consumption of natural resources (water and energy), emissions (nitrogen and phosphorus), gaseous emissions (ammonia and greenhouse gases), and waste production. These indicators are calculated using the environmental flows from the farm divided by the kilograms of pigs produced on the farm (e.g., kg of NH₃ per kg of pigs produced).
For greenhouse gas emissions, the scope considers the entire pig production cycle using an LCA (life cycle assessment) approach, with the indicator expressed per kg of live weight. This type of indicator enables farmers to compare their performance with other farms in the same sector and collective benchmarks. GEEP is connected to the national technical-economic database managed by IFIP, which saves time when entering individual data and ensures the robustness of the information.
This tool is sensitive to several levers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers can enter the formulation of the feed they use, selecting the raw feedstuffs and their origin to calculate the feed’s carbon footprint as accurately as possible. It incorporates several best practices in the effluent management chain, including the frequency of effluent evacuation from buildings, different storage methods, and methanization. The results also consider the technical performance of each physiological stage. GEEP is a comprehensive tool designed to support farmers in their efforts toward continuous improvement.