Athian announced the establishment of the first-of-its-kind voluntary livestock carbon insetting marketplace, with the first accepted protocol aimed at reducing enteric methane emissions and improving feed utilization by using innovative feed management products from Elanco Animal Health.

This new carbon marketplace creates an opportunity for farmers to monetize their greenhouse gas emission reductions, according to the Nov. 2 news release.

Athian said it is verifying its first farms and creating, certifying and selling carbon credits within the dairy value chain. This means:

“Athian’s first carbon credits for dairy are an exciting and crucial step as they demonstrate the ability to tangibly quantify and verify greenhouse gas emissions reductions and create monetary value for farmers for their efforts,” Athian chief executive officer Paul Myer said. “This marketplace, specifically designed for the animal protein industry, is different than traditional offsetting carbon marketplaces because it keeps the value — economic value as well as positive environmental value — in the animal protein value chain.”

Empowering farmers with economic opportunities

Despite farmers’ widespread awareness of carbon markets, only 3% of farmers are participating in these markets today, according to a recent survey cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Creating an inset market model that works with recognized supply chain partners makes it easier for farmers to measure and implement rigorous verifications, will help break these barriers to entry and will accelerate progress.

“As a co-creator and seed investor in Athian, we’re excited to see the company reach the milestones that will bring new value to farmers and help them advance toward climate-neutral farming,” said Jeff Simmons, president and CEO of Elanco Animal Health. “As a leader in animal health, we’ve focused first on delivering enteric methane reduction solutions to producers. If the entire U.S. dairy industry leveraged this intervention, it would avoid 4.7 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually from enteric, feed and manure emissions. This is a game changer for value creation throughout the food chain, and it’s just the start. Environmental sustainability needs to be grounded in farmer profitability.”

Elanco also developed UpLook, an insights-based engine designed to measure and monitor greenhouse gas emissions. The tool utilizes on-farm data and peer-reviewed science to identify key drivers of an operation’s carbon footprint and track the progress of their sustainability efforts. UpLook connects seamlessly to Athian’s cloud-based verification system to help farmers quantify their reduction efforts and certify carbon credits for sale, according to the announcement.

Enabling value chain to achieve sustainability goals

Food companies and retailers have made public commitments to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than 100 million metric tons by 2030. Despite the progress in corporate target setting, the reduction of Scope 3 emissions, which typically come from the production of raw materials like milk, has been a significant challenge.

The creation of Athian’s insetting livestock carbon credit marketplace provides companies in the animal protein value chain the opportunity to make meaningful progress toward their Scope 3 greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Enteric methane reduction carbon credits are now available for purchase through Athian’s insetting carbon marketplace.

Elanco Animal Health Inc. is a global leader in animal health dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets, creating value for farmers, pet owners, veterinarians, stakeholders and society as a whole.

Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits generated through on-farm sustainability efforts by aggregating, verifying and certifying greenhouse gas reductions and monetizing those reductions for the producer through the sale of carbon insetting credits.