June 24, 2025
New Zealand’s onion sector is stepping up its environmental efforts through a variety of activities, including a new tool designed to give growers meaningful insights into their emissions profile, farm performance, and sustainability credentials. As global markets and consumers increasingly favour environmentally responsible supply chains, Onions New Zealand is helping our growers stay ahead of the curve.
A Smarter Way to Grow: The Sustainability Benchmarking Project
As part of our SFFF (Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures) project 'Humble to Hero', Onions New Zealand, in partnership with Vegetables New Zealand, has introduced a new Gross Margin and Greenhouse Gas Calculator developed by Agrilink. The aim? Equip growers with a transparent, user-friendly tool to understand the economic and environmental performance of their onion crops, and use this insight to drive change.
The tool is making waves as an industry-first initiative that offers both a financial lens (gross margin) and an environmental lens (greenhouse gas emissions), all based on real-world data provided by growers themselves.
How the Calculator Works: Financial + Environmental Intelligence
At its core, the Calculator is a simple but powerful tool designed to turn everyday farm data into meaningful insights. By entering details about typical farm operations (such as land use, fertiliser inputs, energy consumption, and transport) the tool can estimate the greenhouse gas emissions produced across a growing season.
This includes:
The tool calculates total emissions and provides a breakdown per hectare, giving growers a clear picture of where their emissions are coming from and how they compare to broader benchmarks.
Importantly, the more detailed a grower’s input, the more accurate the results. But even with minimal data, the calculator provides valuable estimates using reliable industry averages, making it accessible to growers at every stage of their sustainability journey.
Onions New Zealand’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond simple compliance. It's about upholding the reputation of New Zealand produce as some of the most environmentally responsible in the world. Through initiatives like the Greenhouse Gas Calculator, we're ensuring that our onion industry remains transparent, accountable, and future-focused. By empowering growers with the tools to measure and reduce their emissions, we’re not just protecting the land we farm, we’re also protecting the eco-conscious legacy that New Zealand food is known and trusted for.
This is just one of many steps we're taking to make sure our onions meet the highest standards, both in quality and in care for the planet.
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