How a New Partnership Will Help CEA Growers Improve Energy and Water Use Benchmarking

Posted by Brian Sparks|March 10, 2023

Photo: Resource Innovation Institute/FarmTech Society

Resource Innovation Institute (RII), a not-for-profit energy and water benchmarking organization providing resource efficiency best practices for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) producers, is joining forces with FarmTech Society, an international non-profit sectoral association that unites and supports the CEA industry through generating awareness of resource efficiency benchmarking, shaping standards and policy, and focusing on workforce development.

“As a global industry, CEA is increasingly facing the pressures of rising energy prices and water shortages,” says Derek Smith, Executive Director of Resource Innovation Institute. “Working together, RII and FarmTech Society will focus on the importance of benchmarking in demonstrating the climate-smart value of greenhouse and indoor farming. It all comes down to the quality of the data, and with this partnership we are bringing together two organizations who are dedicated to this critical effort.”

Data collection that is representative of CEA facilities in operation, including those with different crops, growing styles, and climate zones, is vital to create a complete snapshot of CEA practices and benefits. Utilizing the collective resources and knowledge of each organization, the collaboration between RII and FarmTech Society will build on the USDA-sponsored benchmarking featured in the Conservation Innovation Grant titled “Data-Driven Market Transformation for Efficient CEA” and the EU Green Deal Infrastructure Strategy. With these initiatives, the two organizations will be advocating for global benchmarking standards in controlled environment agriculture.

“It is imperative that those of us working in CEA take the initiative to develop best practices to address the ongoing challenges of resource management and consumption,” says Thomas Zöellner, Secretary General of FarmTech Society. “This cooperative effort between two like-minded organizations will be a great step toward recognizing the sectors need to identify the data metrics and agreeable benchmarks to develop the tools necessary to support and propel the CEA industry forward.”