up to 200%
the largest yield increase recorded, on a tomato crop grown in a polytunnel
Impact & sustainability
Data that matters for sustainability. Not slogans.
Here is a brief account of the methodology, sources and figures behind the claims we make. If you are an ESG compliance officer, a grant assessor or a journalist, this is the section for you.
Measured impact
up to 30%
lower pesticide use, without affecting yield
up to 40%
lower carbon footprint from transporting fresh fruit and vegetables
up to 70%
lower operating costs for sourcing from monitored farmers
up to 52%
more nutrients available at plant roots, by analysing data from soil temperature, moisture and conductivity sensors
350,000 m³
water saved by optimising irrigation (~140 Olympic swimming pools)
All figures are based on data collected between 2022 and 2024 from a sample of 50 farmers with sensors installed. Methodological details below.
Methodology
Top-down and bottom-up approaches: how we calculate the carbon footprint of fresh vegetables.
The starting point — the top-down approach
For our analysis we used the Big Climate Database (https://concito.dk/en), a database built on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. For more than 540 food products, it provides a set of carbon emission factors regionalised for Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France and Spain. As a starting point for Romania, we use the emission coefficients calculated for Denmark.
The limits of a top-down approach
Carbon emission coefficients are validated only for a few developed countries, where data was available to carry out an analysis. They take into account regional factors such as the type of farming (conventional or organic), the energy mix used in production or transport-specific aspects (short or long distance). This regional approach is highly precise, but of limited use for other countries or regions with heterogeneous conditions. What is more, frequent database updates (for example, v1.2 of September 2024 produced a climate impact 9% higher than v1.1) make historical comparisons difficult. Under these conditions, attributing carbon emission reductions to specific actions taken to that end becomes almost impossible.
The Enten data layer — a bottom-up approach
We use real field data to estimate carbon emissions at farmer level, across the contributing sub-factors: agriculture, packaging and transport. This is where the effect of agronomic decisions and of actions taken along the supply chain becomes visible — and where you can build a sustainability agenda that reduces the risk of misleading claims (greenwashing).
Water saved in growing crops
~350,000 m³ in three years.
Between 2022 and 2024, the farms monitored by the Enten team saved approximately 350,000 m³ of water — the equivalent of 140 Olympic swimming pools. The reduction was the result of work by Enten agronomists, together with the farmers, to fine-tune crop irrigation schedules, based on the soil moisture and evapotranspiration data collected by our monitoring equipment.
Water saved does not appear as an explicit factor in the Big Climate Database, so the coefficients currently in use underestimate the carbon footprint of farmers whose irrigation practices are suboptimal. Including the water saved through better irrigation practices brings the carbon emission calculation closer to reality, and makes it more relevant for farmers in countries where farming is less technologically advanced or agricultural practices are inefficient.
Optimised transport
Fewer multi-drop deliveries, more efficient use of transport capacity.
Multi-drop deliveries — where a farmer delivers produce to several warehouses in the same trip — add unnecessary carbon emissions to the supply chain. Our dynamic delivery allocation algorithms, applied to a sample of 50 farmers supplying fresh vegetables to a retailer’s warehouses, led to a lower share of these deliveries in 2024 than in 2023, and so contributed to a lower carbon footprint for transport.
The capacity actually used when transporting produce remains a major lever for reducing the carbon footprint and operating costs of transport — our analysis shows average utilisation of 49% of a reference vehicle (Iveco Daily, 8 Euro pallets). 50% of suppliers are asked to make warehouse deliveries that fill less than 38% of the reference vehicle’s capacity.
Agriculture
The largest source of carbon emissions — and the most responsive to decisions to reduce them.
Agriculture is the dominant source of carbon emissions in the fresh vegetable supply chain. It is also the hardest contributing factor to assess, because of complex interactions and a lack of granular data. Enten data lets us analyse emission sub-factors in detail, and this is where our agronomists can step in with specific measures to reduce them.
Alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDG 02
Zero hunger
Higher output with fewer resources, especially on small and medium-sized farms.
SDG 06
Clean water and sanitation
Optimising irrigation reduces consumption and protects water resources.
SDG 08
Decent work and economic growth
Access to agricultural value chains for farmers who would otherwise remain on the margins of, or outside, the markets for agricultural produce.
SDG 12
Responsible consumption and production
Seed-to-shelf traceability for farmers, retailers, processors and consumers.
SDG 13
Climate action
Carbon footprint reduction, documented with real data.
SDG 15
Life on land
Lower pesticide use protects soil and pollinator biodiversity.
Recognition
2022
Green innovation
Digital and green business
Gala Romanian Business Leaders
2023
Digitalisation in agriculture
Sustainability award
Gala Piața Financiară
2025
Innovation and sustainability
Excellence in agri-food
Gala Green Report
Methodological honesty
What we don’t measure yet (and why it matters).
Carbon emission estimates for water and fertiliser use become far more accurate once irrigation and fertigation are automated — a project in the pilot phase with some of our clients. The footprint of crop protection treatments, the impact of heat and water stress on agricultural productivity, the emissions linked to the construction materials of greenhouses and polytunnels — all of these contributions will be added to our calculation under the bottom-up approach.
We mention these points because we firmly believe that a sustainability agenda that does not acknowledge what it does not yet measure will not survive its first serious audit. Everything else we claim, however, is documented with data.
Enten’s contribution to sustainability in your business
Want to use Enten data in your sustainability reporting?
We’ll prepare a tailored package of analyses and reports for retailers, processors, cooperatives and financial institutions.