4 for 1000

OleoZE at the heart of the “4 for 1000” initiative

Article written on 20 January 2020

Since the 1990s, French agriculture has been growing rapeseed and sunflower for biodiesel. Produced and marketed by Saipol under the brand name Diester®, this Made in France biodiesel has also made it possible to increase the production of local plant proteins for livestock farms thanks to the meal.

The progress made with all the stakeholders in this sector has reduced energy consumption in farms and in industrial facilities, thus increasing potential reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) from biodiesel to more than 60% compared to the diesel fuel it replaces.

At the same time, agronomic work over the last 20 years has highlighted the role of agriculture in combating climate change through the storage of carbon in the first 30 to 40 centimetres of soil.

In particular, the “4 per 1000” initiative, launched by the French government and in particular its Ministry of Agriculture and Food, demonstrates that increasing the carbon stock in soils by a ratio of 4 per 1000 (i.e. 0.4%) each year would make it possible to halt the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. This initiative advocates conservation farming practices such as increasing soil cover and enriching organic matter.

Saipol is part of this French initiative by developing the OleoZE solution, which makes it possible to trace these practices and precisely measure the reduction of GHG emissions back to the farm.

In this way, Saipol wishes to promote change and make use of more climate-friendly agricultural practices.