Layer and Pullet Carbon Assessments: FAQs for producers

Published on : 7 Apr 2026

The carbon assessment is free to complete with your BFREPA membership

Thank you to all BFREPA producers who have already signed up and started submitting their layer and pullet carbon assessments. Your engagement is greatly appreciated and plays an important role in strengthening the industry’s understanding of its environmental footprint.

We recognise that carbon reporting can feel daunting, particularly at first. These FAQs have been developed to answer common questions and provide clear, practical guidance on what’s required and how to complete your assessment with confidence.

For producers who haven’t yet signed up, now is the time. The carbon assessment is free to complete with your BFREPA membership and delivers real value through meaningful reporting and can help identify opportunities for efficiency and sustainability improvements across your business. Importantly, completion of the assessment will also be a requirement of the Lion Code, making early engagement a sensible and proactive step.

The following FAQs are designed to support you through the process, explain why the data matters, and show how the insights gained can benefit both your business and the wider egg sector.

1: Why do producers need to complete a carbon assessment?
The carbon assessment measures the greenhouse gas emissions associated with poultry production, providing valuable insight into where efficiency gains and sustainability improvements can be made. Completing the assessment also supports the egg industry’s wider sustainability commitments and will be a Lion Code requirement. By submitting your data, you will demonstrate your commitment to responsible and sustainable production, while contributing to a robust, industry-wide evidence base. Early engagement is therefore a proactive investment in the future of your business and the wider sector.

2: What information will I need to provide?
The assessment uses information that producers will already have as part of normal record keeping. This includes flock details, feed usage, energy use, housing type, mortality and pullet placement data. The process is designed to be straightforward, without the need for specialist knowledge.

3: How long does it take to complete the assessment?
Most producers find the assessment can be completed quickly and efficiently, particularly once the required information has been gathered using the pre-assessment form prior to entering data on the portal. As many data points remain consistent year on year, future submissions take even less time. This also enables producers to track performance and benchmark results over time delivering increasing value each year.

4: What’s the benefit for my business?
The Bronze level assessment is free to complete with your BFREPA membership and provides meaningful reporting, including a carbon footprint result for your flock alongside a comparative average for your production system, allowing you to benchmark performance. Alltech E-CO2 has a strong and well-established free-range database, making this benchmarking particularly valuable.

The insights gained can help identify opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce input costs, and support long-term business resilience. The assessment also provides assurance to customers and retailers that your poultry production aligns with recognised industry sustainability standards.

5: How robust is the BFREPA carbon assessment?
The BFREPA carbon assessment is built on a robust and independently verified methodology. BFREPA has partnered with Alltech E-CO2, who have a long-standing relationship with the Carbon Trust, a globally recognised certification body.

The Carbon Trust provides independent third-party certification of the Alltech E-CO2 tools, software, and services. The carbon footprint models used within the assessment are fully certified in line with PAS 2050: 2011 Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and ISO 14067 standards, ensuring consistent, credible, and transparent calculation of on-farm carbon footprints per unit of output.

6: Is my data private?
Yes. All information submitted is treated as completely confidential. Data is anonymised and collated to support BFREPA benchmarking and industry reporting.

7: I don’t have exact figures. Can I still use the calculator?
Estimates are acceptable; however, the more accurate the data that's entered, the more robust and useful the results will be. If you’re unsure about any of the figures, you may wish to consider the Silver or Gold package, which provides additional support when completing the assessment. These options offer expert guidance to ensure your data is entered correctly and that you gain maximum value from the results.

8: What is CO2e?
CO2e stands for “carbon dioxide equivalent”. It is a standard unit of measurement that accounts for the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases, allowing them to be compared on a like-for-like basis. Emissions are reported as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per dozen eggs produced and as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of eggs and is the sum of all emissions generated on farm in the analysed period, divided by the total number per dozen and per kilogram of eggs produced.

Feed typically accounts for 70–85% of emissions in both pullet and layer systems which makes it important to have detailed feed information. Feed emissions arise from land-use change, fertiliser use, transport, and energy-intensive processing. In both layer and pullet diets, certain raw materials are a major contributing factor to total feed-related emissions.

9: What is the difference between the Bronze, Sliver and Gold packages?
The BFREPA carbon assessment is available through three support packages, allowing producers to choose the level of detail and guidance that best suits their business.

a: Bronze
The Bronze package is included as a free membership benefit for BFREPA producer members and covers one flock per year. It provides a verified carbon footprint result for the flock, supporting Lion Code compliance and industry benchmarking.

b: Silver
The Silver package includes everything within Bronze, plus bespoke desktop carbon commentary prepared by Alltech E-CO2. This highlights potential opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint and improve efficiency based on your submitted data.

c: Gold
The Gold package offers the most comprehensive support, including an on-farm visit by Alltech, in-person data collection, and a detailed analysis of the poultry unit. This delivers a carbon footprint result alongside tailored carbon reduction scenarios.

An optional layer unit production assessment is also available with the Gold package, including farm and nutrition advice, eggshell quality testing, and manure scoring.

Click here for more information

10: I have more than one flock, how much will it cost for my other flocks?
One flock per year is included in your membership. Additional flocks can also be submitted and are subject to a discounted Bronze level fee of £95 plus VAT for BFREPA producer members.

11: How can I join the scheme?
Click here to apply to join the scheme

You will then receive access details for the portal for data entry along with a pre-assessment form and a user guide.

11: Who can I contact with any data input queries?
Throughout the template you will see information icons marked i. These help boxes explain what information is required for each question simply hover your curser over the icon marked i to view the guidance.

You can also contact Alltech E-CO2 for help and support with data entry on 01270 522645 (ask to speak to the E-CO2 team) or email eco2support@alltech.com