Bryan Esteban Múnera Castañeda, María Alejandra Correa Betancourt, Sandra Lorena Alarcón Muriel and Nicolás Javier Gil Zapata
Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar de Colombia (Cenicaña), Km 26 vía Cali–Florida, Colombia
Over the past 9 years, the sugarcane agroindustry has made progress in measuring its carbon footprint from cultivation to the production of sugar, ethanol, and energy. Cenicaña has engaged sugarcane growers, who represent 75% of the planted area in Colombia’s Cauca River Valley, highlighting the importance of measuring and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This addresses both the need to reduce the sector’s environmental impact and the opportunity to generate economic benefits through sustainable practices. A calculation tool based on the ISO 14064-1 methodology was developed to collect activity data and automatically calculate GHG emissions. The tool allows for evaluating emissions under different management scenarios, such as conventional, organic, and sustainable practices, improving the accuracy of assessments across various cultivated areas. A study on 30 production units revealed that areas smaller than 50 ha have a higher carbon footprint (2633 kgCO2eq/ha-yr) than areas larger than 200 ha, where emissions are 2043 kgCO2eq/ha-yr. Fertilizing according to nutritional requirements (nutrient absorption curves and updated soil analyses) and practices such as green manure planting or organic fertilizers help reduce emissions linked to nitrogen fertilizers, demonstrating the positive impact of sustainable practices. The carbon footprint was significantly lower (2043 kgCO2eq/ha-yr) in production systems under organic management. The study concludes that it is essential to continue calculating the carbon footprint and promoting sustainable practices among growers. The calculation tool has been key in quantifying impacts and facilitating the adoption of sustainable technologies, with a projection that 50% of growers will use it in the short term. The challenge is encouraging more producers to achieve both environmental benefits, such as combating climate change, and economic improvements.