Bilanzierung von Treibhausgas-Emissionen in der österreichischen Agrarwirtschaft: Anforderungen und Perspektiven

Abstract

This master's thesis examines the increasing importance of sustainability and its impact on agricultural businesses, particularly in the context of greenhouse gas accounting. As sustainability has become a core social value, some companies are required to disclose their environmental impact along the value chain in the form of a sustainability report. This also applies to agricultural businesses, which must disclose their emissions when selling their products to companies subject to reporting requirements. Due to a lack of experience in the sector, the main objective of this master's thesis is to methodically analyse the requirements and perspectives of agricultural greenhouse gas accounting. The motivation for this research work is the fact that there is currently still the opportunity to actively participate in the design of the implementation. The following research question was posed: "What opportunities and risks will arise for Austrian agricultural businesses if emissions have to be published in sustainability reports in the future?" Qualitative expert interviews were conducted to answer this question, providing a deeper insight into the topic and forming the basis for the development of practicable recommendations for action. The evaluation of the research has shown that there are a large number of topics in the areas of requirements, challenges, effects, opportunities and risks that need to be taken into account when designing the programme. It was found that not all farms will be affected by the topic to the same extent. For this reason, farm size and farm type were proposed as classification criteria in this study in order to enable practicable implementation for as many farms as possible. In order not to overburden businesses, a standardised system should be created throughout Austria that integrates the respective operational and regional requirements for accounting. In any case, a digital solution that can be used by farmers is necessary. Specific challenges were identified in the area of data management. These include data collection, data sovereignty, data communication, data protection and data processing. Greenhouse gas accounting offers the opportunity to manage operational emissions and thus enable further development towards climate-resilient agriculture. In addition, transparent reporting can provide competitive advantages on the market. On the other hand, there are risks such as farms being overburdened by additional bureaucracy. In order to adequately manage the various areas, suitable communication strategies are required to provide all relevant stakeholders with the appropriate information.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christiane Rau (Supervisor)