1. Combining Models?
Carbon Accounting for Land Managers (CALM)
+ Woodland Carbon Code
Dr Vicky West
Forestry Commission

2. What is CALM?
• Helps show carbon balance of a business as first
step towards thinking about management decisions
to reducing GHG emissions.
• This activity-based approach for farms and
estates allows businesses to focus on the activities
in their own business, rather than looking at the
activities of their suppliers and purchasers
• CALM = Free online calculator for land managers
showing the net balance between farming annual
GHG emissions and carbon sequestration (soil,
trees).
www.calm.cla.org.uk

3. CALM - scope
• Emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O and any carbon which
is stored in soil and trees.
• The emissions come from:
• Energy and fuel use
• Livestock
• Cultivation
• Peat cultivation/draining
• Nitrogen fertilisers and lime
• Manure management
• Land-use change (soil C changes)
• As the farming system changes from year to year
the carbon balance can be recalculated.
• Based on UK GHGI LULUCF Inventory / IPCC
Assumptions/Emissions Factors
• Output: html, csv or pdf
www.calm.cla.org.uk

4. CALM – Alternative Management
Options
Impact of Environmental Stewardship options
(Applies to England – could be updated for Scotland)
• Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardship incl
Organic and Uplands)
• Calculated as a partial budget to estimate savings
on entry into Stewardship (=annual change in
emission pre and post entry)
www.calm.cla.org.uk

5. Combining CALM with WCC
Benefit: Land manager can easily see current GHG
balance and benefit of creating woodland either
•To compensate for/ reduce own NET emissions
•To see volume of carbon credits to potentially sell
to other companies who want to compensate for
their emissions
Within the online CALM environment:
•Can see current emissions of land holding/area
•Included Woodland Carbon Code carbon accounting
tools for woodland creation
Challenges: Comparing annual farming emission to
100-year variable rate woodland sequestration
www.calm.cla.org.uk

6. Questions?
Dr Vicky West
vicky@forestry.gov.uk
Carbon Accounting for Land Managers
www.calm.cla.org.uk
www.calm.cla.org.uk

7. Discussion
The tools:
• Do tools account for everything / is there anything
missing?
• Are tools fit for purpose? Where are improvements
required?
Combining tools:
• Do we need to create an integrated carbon accounting
tool for landuse?
 If yes: What are the aims? How to achieve them?
 If no: How to make land managers aware of the
benefits of each tool and how/when to use each?
Action:
• 3 Actions we can take in next year to improve
tools/accessibility of tools available to land managers
• What can/should ICARB do to help in next year?
www.calm.cla.org.uk