Low carbon wheat pilot set to reduce carbon footprint of bread

06 Apr 2023 --- Dossche Mills, Agravis Raiffeisen and OCI Global are collaborating on a low-carbon wheat flour grown using a fertilizer that generates a lower carbon footprint. The first batch of this wheat crop will be harvested this summer in what the companies hope will be “a first step in the transition to a sustainable wheat chain.”

The collaboration aims to “help reduce the environmental impact of bread on store shelves.” Such impact comes from the use of greenhouse-gas emitting fertilizer to enhance wheat crops.

OCI Global’s Nutramon low-carbon fertilizer, compared to other fertilizers, has a greenhouse gas balance reduced by up to 50% in terms of “cradle-to-gate” carbon impact. Reduction of this impact is becoming a key concern for producers globally. 

This low-carbon fertilizer is certified by ISCC PLUS, which ensures responsible sourcing of sustainable raw materials based on a mass balance approach. 

Dossche Mills, OCI Global and Agravis are collaborating on low-carbon wheat production.In this case, the fertilizer supplied by OCI notes that Nutramon is “linked to biomethane derived from waste streams and agricultural residues, as an alternative to natural gas” and is certified by ISCC PLUS, which ensures responsible sourcing of sustainable raw materials,

“We know that we need to address the greenhouse gas emissions of fertilizers because mineral fertilizers are needed for the production of food for around four billion people – half the world’s population,” says Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI Global.

“Through this pilot, we aim to register the reduced carbon impact of grain and pass the environmental benefits down the value chain to producers, distributors, retailers and ultimately, the public.”

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, a spokesperson from OCI Global, says the application of the fertilizer is essential to achieve the quality protein standard of wheat required to produce bread-making quality flour. 

“Because the majority of GHG emissions created by producing a loaf of bread come from the production and application of fertilizer for the wheat, OCI has committed to reducing this impact. Starting with reducing the GHG emissions from fertilizer production by sourcing sustainable feedstock alternatives compared to fossil resources. Accordingly, passing the reduced carbon footprint down the chain, lessening the environmental impact of an everyday loaf of bread.”

“Our low carbon Nutramon has a reduced carbon footprint because biomethane derived from agricultural waste materials is sourced for our nitrogen production,” they explain. “The usage of biomethane avoids GHG emissions by replacing fossil resources. The quality of biomethane is equal to natural gas and therefore suitable to be used in traditional fertilizer production plants.”

According to OCI Global, this is an important first step toward a sustainable wheat chain. Farmers are able to maintain the yield and quality of the wheat. 

“Lowering the CO2 footprint on farm level will decrease the impact on climate change in the food chain. The end goal of this collaboration is to reduce the carbon footprint of wheat significantly. In next steps we also want to enhance soil fertility and biodiversity of wheat production.”

Some of the challenges OCI foresees include scaling up the low-carbon wheat production process and gaining widespread acceptance and adoption of the low-carbon wheat because of data heterogeneity and increasing documentation intensity on farm.

“Namely, today’s available carbon footprint calculation tools are based on average and standardized data and therefore not yet sufficient to capture the complexity of farming operations and values of individual products and cultivation methods. With more decarbonized measures in the pipeline, tools need to advance their calculation methodologies with the inclusion of more site-specific circumstances and real-time data collection,” details the spokesperson. 

Long-term sustainability 
The food chain remains one of the largest sources of greenhouse gasses, driving climate change toward irreparable damage. However, steps are being taken to reduce the carbon emissions of staple food production. 

This partnership marks the beginning of a longer collaboration aimed at “providing a wider range of sustainable solutions such as the reduction of the greenhouse effect, soil quality, biodiversity, healthy food and well-being, as well as transparent and ethical business practices.”

Dr. Dirk Köckler, CEO of Agravis, notes the importance of prioritizing agriculture in sustainability efforts. 

“Agriculture is considered one of the causes of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is also the only branch of the economy besides forestry that actively binds CO2. It is also a sector severely affected by climate change,” he flags. 

“Both make saving emissions all the more relevant for this industry.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson at Dossche Mills says an increasing number of big players in the Industrial Bakeries and Food industry are looking for solutions regarding low carbon produced flour. “We play an important role to guide these customers toward a more sustainable wheat chain. However, this specific sustainable wheat project is bigger than CO2 reduction and is also about improving soil quality, biodiversity  and healthy food. This project contributes to scaling up towards similar production methods: volumes are rather limited today, but will continue to increase year after year.”

However, from the perspective of the food industry and retail, clear SBTI targets have already been defined and more companies will align to these goals. This project is one of many more to meet future demand of low-carbon footprint wheat flour, they state.

Low-carbon demandsUsing a fertilizer with reduced emissions, the companies will produce wheat with a diminished climate impact.
A recent study published in Nature studying the effect of food production on the climate noted that “global food consumption alone could add nearly 1°C to warming by 2100.” However, it states that most of this warming is “driven by foods that are high sources of methane, such as ruminant meat, dairy and rice.” 

Meanwhile, consumer behavior is increasingly influenced by growing awareness of the food system’s impact on the environment. In a recent study published by crop nutrition company Yara International via IPSOS, more than half of EU consumers noted that they are willing to pay more for greener products and want producers to provide better climate-related on-label packaging. 

UK producers are turning toward gene-editing techniques as a possible means of bolstering and improving crop nutrition and resilience, hoping that improved crops will require less fertilizer and produce reduced emissions.

By James Davies