Public Goods Tool
Open-Source Farm Sustainability Assessment Tool
Resource explained
Since its inception in 2011 by the Organic Research Centre, the Public Goods Tool (PG Tool) has provided a detailed whole farm sustainability assessment. Originally designed for organic farms, the tool has since undergone numerous changes and adaptations to expand its applicability to conventional farms with specific versions being developed for various EU projects. Likewise, many innovative farms around the UK have utilised the tool to monitor and assess the impacts their management methods have on public good production.
The tool requires basic data inputs on 13 aspects of farm management, the results of which are scored to provide an overview of farm sustainability in an easy to understand series of diagrams.
Findings & recommendations
- With this latest version developed under the REFOREST EU programme in collaboration with MVARC, how you interact with the PG Tool to input data has been overhauled resulting in a quick and easy to complete assessment.
- A single version is also available for all to access, allowing for direct comparisons between farms to further drive forward research and on-farm action in farm sustainability.
- The calculations behind the tool are now available for anyone to see and use, offering new levels of transparency as to how the assessments are made and urging others to develop the current tool further for research purposes.
Interested in seeing where this tool sits in relation to other existing tools? The ORC has carried out a sustainability tool analysis – find out more here.
Summary provided by:
Christian GosselEdited by:
Janie CaldbeckAssociated Agricology Partner Organisation(s):
Author(s):
Gossel, C, Tomas, A & Palma, JFunders:
Defra (original version) - EU Horizons Programme (Latest update)Organisation(s):
- Organic Research Centre
Evidence:
Academic research
Copyright:
Attribution CC BYRelated theme:
Key Farming Practices:
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