Managing Lighting and Emissions for More Sustainable Poultry Production

The poultry industry, while less resource-intensive than other forms of animal agriculture must adopt sustainable practices to address environmental concerns.² This article explores how innovative lighting solutions, like connected LED technology, can contribute to a more sustainable poultry sector.

Holistic view of sustainability

Sustainability is a broad term that can mean vastly different actions for different industries. One of the most widely accepted definitions of sustainability is from the UN Brundtland Commission: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This definition is a great starting point, but businesses need a little more direction when establishing sustainability goals.

The two main frameworks for evaluating sustainability within an organization are the Global Reporting Initiative and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The metrics for each framework differ, but each addresses the three pillars of sustainability — environmental conservation, social responsibility and economic viability.

One of the most reported metrics that affects each of these pillars is a business’s carbon footprint. A carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gasses (GHG) produced by an individual, company or industry.

GHG emissions fall into three categories:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions due to business operations, such as natural gas heaters and diesel-operated tractors.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from business operations of purchased energy, such as electricity or steam.
• Scope 3: Everything else that is defined as indirect emissions in the entire value chain, including emissions from extraction of raw materials, transportation in the supply chain, emissions from products use such as energy to power the product and disposal after product usage. These emissions are very broad and make the largest contribution to a business’s carbon footprint.

Sustainable agricultural practices

Agriculture remains one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions globally, with the World Resources Institute world’s second-largest emitter, after the energy sector.⁴ According to a 2018 article, “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” agriculture accounts for 26% of the GHG emissions worldwide.³

Regarding animal protein, the poultry industry is naturally less resource-intensive than other animal farming segments. This is because biggest factor in GHG emissions for animal farming is feed production. Poultry has a relatively low feed conversion ratio; thus, the environmental impact is less per pound of product produced.

Farm management can also play a substantial part in reducing the carbon footprint of the poultry industry. Practices such as proper manure management and precision health monitoring contribute to reducing GHG emissions.⁶

The USDA defines sustainable agriculture as making efficient use of nonrenewable and on-farm resources, appropriately integrating natural biological cycles and enhancing environmental quality and natural resources.⁵

^{Keep reading more at Modern Poultry.}