--- title: "Sustainability business case: Reducing the carbon footprint of potatoes" description: Reducing fertilizer emissions can improve potato farming sustainability and profitability, ensuring a resilient supply chain for food companies. image: https://proba.earth/hubfs/Blog%20featured%20image%20(15).png --- [![Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.](https://proba.earth/hs-fs/hubfs/positive.png?width=185&height=53&name=positive.png "Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.")](https://proba.earth) Search toggle - Use cases Use cases - [Quantify fertilizer emissions](https://proba.earth/quantify-fertilizer-emissions-proba) - [Certify reductions](https://proba.earth/certify-emission-reductions) - [Design projects](https://proba.earth/design-sustainability-projects) - [Connect to buyers](https://proba.earth/connect-to-buyers) - [Scope 3 progress](https://proba.earth/report-scope-3-progress) - [For food companies](https://proba.earth/for-food-companies) - [For commodity traders](https://proba.earth/commodity-trader) - [For agricultural co-ops](https://proba.earth/agri-cooperatives) - [For fertilizer producers](https://proba.earth/for-fertilizer-producers) - Products Products - [MRV Platform](https://proba.earth/mrv-platform) - [GHG Methodologies](https://proba.earth/methodologies) - [Inset Units](https://proba.earth/inset-units) - [Registry](https://proba.earth/registry) - [All Proba products](https://proba.earth/products) - Services Services - [Implementation services](https://proba.earth/implementation-services) - [Proba Projects](https://proba.earth/proba-projects) - [Proba Quick scan](https://proba.earth/fertilizer-emission-calculator) - Resources Resources - [Blog](https://proba.earth/probas-blog) - [Proba Standard](https://proba.earth/proba-standard) - [Public Consultation](https://proba.earth/public-consultation) - [Approved VVBs](https://proba.earth/approved-vvbs) - Company Company - [About us](https://proba.earth/about-proba) - [Contact us](https://proba.earth/contact) - [Governance](https://proba.earth/proba-governance) - [Privacy policy](https://proba.earth/proba-privacy-policy) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.linkedin.com/company/proba-earth/) [![Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.](https://proba.earth/hs-fs/hubfs/positive.png?width=185&height=53&name=positive.png "Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.")](https://proba.earth) - Use cases Use cases - [Quantify fertilizer emissions](https://proba.earth/quantify-fertilizer-emissions-proba) - [Certify reductions](https://proba.earth/certify-emission-reductions) - [Design projects](https://proba.earth/design-sustainability-projects) - [Connect to buyers](https://proba.earth/connect-to-buyers) - [Scope 3 progress](https://proba.earth/report-scope-3-progress) - [For food companies](https://proba.earth/for-food-companies) - [For commodity traders](https://proba.earth/commodity-trader) - [For agricultural co-ops](https://proba.earth/agri-cooperatives) - [For fertilizer producers](https://proba.earth/for-fertilizer-producers) - Products Products - [MRV Platform](https://proba.earth/mrv-platform) - [GHG Methodologies](https://proba.earth/methodologies) - [Inset Units](https://proba.earth/inset-units) - [Registry](https://proba.earth/registry) - [All Proba products](https://proba.earth/products) - Services Services - [Implementation services](https://proba.earth/implementation-services) - [Proba Projects](https://proba.earth/proba-projects) - [Proba Quick scan](https://proba.earth/fertilizer-emission-calculator) - Resources Resources - [Blog](https://proba.earth/probas-blog) - [Proba Standard](https://proba.earth/proba-standard) - [Public Consultation](https://proba.earth/public-consultation) - [Approved VVBs](https://proba.earth/approved-vvbs) - Company Company - [About us](https://proba.earth/about-proba) - [Contact us](https://proba.earth/contact) - [Governance](https://proba.earth/proba-governance) - [Privacy policy](https://proba.earth/proba-privacy-policy) Search toggle [![Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.](https://proba.earth/hs-fs/hubfs/positive.png?width=185&height=53&name=positive.png "Proba. In your supply chain, we make the voluntary carbon market work for you.")](https://proba.earth) - Use cases Use cases - [Quantify fertilizer emissions](https://proba.earth/quantify-fertilizer-emissions-proba) - [Certify reductions](https://proba.earth/certify-emission-reductions) - [Design projects](https://proba.earth/design-sustainability-projects) - [Connect to buyers](https://proba.earth/connect-to-buyers) - [Scope 3 progress](https://proba.earth/report-scope-3-progress) - [For food companies](https://proba.earth/for-food-companies) - [For commodity traders](https://proba.earth/commodity-trader) - [For agricultural co-ops](https://proba.earth/agri-cooperatives) - [For fertilizer producers](https://proba.earth/for-fertilizer-producers) - Products Products - [MRV Platform](https://proba.earth/mrv-platform) - [GHG Methodologies](https://proba.earth/methodologies) - [Inset Units](https://proba.earth/inset-units) - [Registry](https://proba.earth/registry) - [All Proba products](https://proba.earth/products) - Services Services - [Implementation services](https://proba.earth/implementation-services) - [Proba Projects](https://proba.earth/proba-projects) - [Proba Quick scan](https://proba.earth/fertilizer-emission-calculator) - Resources Resources - [Blog](https://proba.earth/probas-blog) - [Proba Standard](https://proba.earth/proba-standard) - [Public Consultation](https://proba.earth/public-consultation) - [Approved VVBs](https://proba.earth/approved-vvbs) - Company Company - [About us](https://proba.earth/about-proba) - [Contact us](https://proba.earth/contact) - [Governance](https://proba.earth/proba-governance) - [Privacy policy](https://proba.earth/proba-privacy-policy) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.linkedin.com/company/proba-earth/) Search toggle What are you looking for? Search # Sustainability business case: Reducing the carbon footprint of potatoes 17 Mar 2026 ![Picture of Proba](https://proba.earth/hs-fs/hubfs/Subheading%20(7).png?width=40&name=Subheading%20(7).png) [Proba](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/author/proba) ![](https://proba.earth/hubfs/Blog%20featured%20image%20(15).png) How do you prefer your potatoes? Maybe French fries? Gratin? Mashed? As a bag of chips, sitting on the couch? Potatoes are cultivated and consumed practically on every continent, whilst they’re not grown in Antarctica, they are still eaten via imports. Potatoes are considered a low-emission crop compared to grains or sugar. So where is the footprint hiding? Nearly a third of it sits in fertilizer, covering both production and in-field application. For food companies with potato-heavy portfolios, that is not a small number. It is an addressable one. **A crop with many lives** Before diving into emissions, it helps to understand just how widely potatoes are used: - Culinary: Fresh potatoes destined for mashing, baking, soups, and restaurant kitchens - Processed food: French fries, flakes, granules, noodles, and ingredients across packaged food - Industrial: Starch for adhesives, fermentation for vodka and ethanol, pharmaceutical applications - Agricultural: Seed tubers for next season's crop, animal feed Each end use has its own supply chain structure. A culinary processor operates a much shorter chain than a packaged food producer.. But across all of them, the farm sits at the foundation, and so do fertilizer emissions. **What are the big challenges that food companies face?** 1\. Climate change is a supply risk Potato yields and quality are highly sensitive to weather extremes such as heat, drought, heavy rainfall, and shifting disease pressure. For potato processors, this can translate into lower or more unpredictable yields, more quality issues (for example size), tighter procurement windows, and higher costs. 2\. Farmer profitability is under strain Potato production is input-intensive and operationally complex. When profitability declines, the reliability of supply can be affected, meaning fewer hectares planted, reduced investment in storage and quality, and greater volatility in pricing and contract terms. 3\. Tighter regulation on nitrogen Nitrogen is essential for potato growth, and the biggest problem area for fertilizer-related emissions. As a result, nitrogen management is increasingly under pressure by regulation and restrictions. Where input limits tighten, farmers may face pressure to reduce nitrogen use while costs rise and margins narrow. 4\. Need to meet targets, transparent reporting Many food companies have climate targets and reporting expectations driven by their customers, retailers, and wider stakeholder requirements. For potato-heavy portfolios, fertilizer is often a leading contributor within farm-level emissions. **How to actually reduce emissions: invest in fertilizers.** Nitrogen stabilizers are additives that reduce nitrogen loss, keeping more nitrogen available to the crop rather than escaping into the environment. Urease inhibitors slow the breakdown of urea after application, reducing atmospheric losses. Nitrification inhibitors slow the conversion of ammonium into nitrate, limiting leaching and N₂O emissions. Controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) deliver nitrogen gradually, better matching crop uptake over the growing season. For potatoes, nitrogen timing directly affects both yield and quality, making this a practical intervention. Low-emission fertilizer technologies offer further options where stabilizers or controlled-release products are not feasible. These include low-carbon ammonia and urea fertilizers, bio-based and organic alternatives, and technologies such as organic-mineral, foliar, and sulfur-enhanced fertilizers suited to potato cultivation. **Why this is a worthwhile investment** Beyond being sustainable, investing in better fertilizers is an investment in better potatoes and a more resilient supply chain. Fertilizer is one of the most volatile input costs in agriculture. Prices can spike sharply due to energy market shifts and disruptions in global supply. When farmers use nitrogen more efficiently, they need less of it to achieve the same yield, which means more stable and predictable procurement conditions for the food companies buying from them. Farmer profitability matters too. When input costs spike, there is a risk that farmers choose to grow less, or switch to a different crop entirely. A farmer who is operating profitably is one who keeps growing potatoes, invests in the right equipment, and delivers consistent quality season after season. At the portfolio level, acting on fertilizer emissions gives your climate reporting something you can actually stand behind: measurable actions, consistent methods, and real progress rather than estimates and assumptions. | The cost of fertilizers should not fall on the farmers alone, carbon insetting is the way to go. Different chain-of-custody models to address your unique supply chain needs. Read more here. | | --- | **Ready to find your emission reduction opportunities?** If fertilizer accounts for nearly a third of your potato footprint, that is where the work starts. Proba helps food companies and processors identify, quantify, and act on emission reduction opportunities across their agricultural supply chains. ### Share: [Share on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://proba.earth/probas-blog/sustainability-business-case-reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-potatoes&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook) [Share on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://proba.earth/probas-blog/sustainability-business-case-reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-potatoes&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://proba.earth/probas-blog/sustainability-business-case-reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-potatoes&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://proba.earth/probas-blog/sustainability-business-case-reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-potatoes&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Sustainability%20business%20case:%20Reducing%20the%20carbon%20footprint%20of%20potatoes) [Fertilizers](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/tag/fertilizers), [Insetting](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/tag/insetting), [crops](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/tag/crops) ## Proba Food companies are asking for verified Scope 3 reductions. It starts with fertilizer. [hello@proba.earth](mailto:hello@proba.earth) [Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/proba-earth/) ## Related posts Search [What the new GHG Protocol Land Sector Standard really means for fertilizer and food companies](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/new-ghg-protocol-land-sector-standard) [Coffee LATAM baseline: Why emission factor baselines matter and what it means for your Scope 3 reporting](https://proba.earth/probas-blog/coffee-latam-baseline) Search ![Subheading (5)](https://proba.earth/hs-fs/hubfs/Subheading%20(5).png?width=317&name=Subheading%20(5).png "Subheading (5)") [Laan van Kronenburg 14, 1183 AS Amstelveen](https://maps.app.goo.gl/aKif8v1k5m9h2zA37)   Food companies are asking for certified Scope 3 reductions. It starts with fertilizer. [Follow us on Facebook](mailto:hello@proba.earth) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.linkedin.com/company/proba-earth/) Use cases [Quantify fertilizer emissions](https://proba.earth/quantify-fertilizer-emissions-proba) [Certify reductions](https://proba.earth/certify-emission-reductions) [Design projects](https://proba.earth/design-sustainability-projects) [Connect to buyers](https://proba.earth/connect-to-buyers) [Scope 3 progress](https://proba.earth/report-scope-3-progress) [Food companies](https://proba.earth/for-food-companies) [Commodity traders](https://proba.earth/agri-trader) [Agricultural co-ops](https://proba.earth/agri-cooperatives) [Fertilizer producers](https://proba.earth/for-fertilizer-producers) Products [All Proba products](https://proba.earth/products) [MRV Platform](https://proba.earth/mrv-platform) [GHG Methodologies](https://proba.earth/methodologies) [Inset units](https://proba.earth/inset-units) [Registry](https://proba.earth/registry) [Fertilizer calculator](https://proba.earth/fertilizer-emission-calculator) Services [Implementation services](https://proba.earth/implementation-services) [Quick scan](https://proba.earth/fertilizer-emission-calculator) Resources [Blog](https://proba.earth/probas-blog) [Document library](https://proba.earth/document-library) [Public consultation](https://proba.earth/public-consultation) [Approved VVBs](https://proba.earth/approved-vvbs) Company [About us](https://proba.earth/about-proba) [Contact us](https://proba.earth/contact) [Governance](https://proba.earth/proba-governance) [Privacy policy](https://proba.earth/proba-privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Proba", "url" : "https://proba.earth/probas-blog/author/proba" }, "dateModified" : "2026-03-17T15:46:47.471Z", "datePublished" : "2026-03-17T15:46:47.000Z", "headline" : "Sustainability business case: Reducing the carbon footprint of potatoes", "image" : [ "https://proba.earth/hubfs/Blog%20featured%20image%20(15).png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://proba.earth/probas-blog/sustainability-business-case-reducing-the-carbon-footprint-of-potatoes", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://proba.earth/hubfs/positive.png" }, "name" : "Proba World BV" } } ```