80 Acres Farms' GHG emissions in 2022 amounted to an estimated 13,000 tonnes of CO2e

Around 40.8 billion (Bn) tonnes (t) of CO₂e are emitted globally every year¹. CO₂e levels are the highest ever recorded², trapping heat and changing the climate³. In the US, agriculture is estimated to contribute to 11.2% of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly in the form of N₂O from "cropped and grazed soils"¹⁴.

80 Acres Farms produces fruits, herbs, and vegetables and currently owns eight vertical farms in the US^8,9,10. The company's latest farm in Ohio has a 6,500 m² capacity¹⁵. Assuming the other seven farms have a similar capacity, the company uses 52,000 m² of a vertical farming area, producing an estimated 7,200 tonnes (t) of food annually^11,8.

Electricity demands made up most of the emissions of traditional vertical farms, representing 85% of the emissions¹⁶. However, studies estimate that by using 100% renewable energy, vertical farms are able to abate 78% of their estimated emissions^16,10. Vertical farming methods using renewable energy are estimated to emit roughly 1.8 kg-CO₂e per tonne of leafy vegetables from cradle-to-grave¹⁶. This estimation assumes crops don't travel more than 15 km to their point of sale, as vertical farms are located near cities and main retail sites¹⁶.

Considering 80 Acres Farms grew 7,200 tonnes of produce, the company emitted roughly 13,000 tCO₂e^11,8,16. Of this, an estimated 64% (4,600 t-CO₂e) of the emissions come from the core activity of producing the crops, followed by 22% (2,860 tCO₂e) from upstream crop emissions^16;fig.11.

Aside from using 100% renewable energy, 80 Acres have managed to reduce 500,000 trucking miles (804,672 km) a year per farm⁹. Considering an average truck emits 0.001 tonnes per km, the company avoids 6,700 t-CO₂e per year on transportation^13,9.

Even though the company's initiatives allow internal emission reductions, 80 Acres Farms is still contributing to global warming on a small scale.