France: CAP’2ER, a tool for sustainable livestock farming

What is CAP’2ER? The abbreviation CAP’2ER literally stands for: Calcul Automatisé des Performances Environnementales pour des Exploitations Responsables (automated calculation of environmental performance for responsible companies). CAP’2ER is an advanced tool for evaluating and reducing the environmental impact of a livestock farm. The tool has a broad approach (‘whole farm approach’) and focuses on fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality (ammonia), water quality (nitrate, phosphate) and water consumption. In addition, CAP’2ER helps support farmers in analysing the positive environmental effects of their business operations, such as biodiversity conservation, carbon storage (for carbon footprint), production of renewable energy and the role of livestock farming in food production. How does CAP’2ER work? CAP’2ER uses data collected directly on farms. This includes figures on, for example, animal productivity, fuel consumption, manure and biodiversity ...