Composting Manure Leads to a Reduction in Methane Emissions

Did you know that any process of composting manure through aerobic fermentation leads to a reduction in methane emissions, which automatically translates into CO2e savings?

And that this can turn into carbon credits?

These questions were addressed in Bucharest on October 2, 2024, in a transparent, interactive, and professional manner by Carbon Expert and Kofert Organic during the stakeholder meeting for the composting projects developed by Kofert Organic in Mihăilești, Giurgiu County, and Băicoi, Prahova County.

The meeting was attended by decision-makers from the Ministry of Environment, the Environmental Fund Administration, and the National Environmental Guard, independent Romanian experts, and representatives from the Circular Economy Coalition. Additionally, there was a renowned and significant international presence, including technology producer Kohshin Engineering Co – Japan, Marubeni Corporation – Japan, Kohshin Europe – Romania, as well as companies from Bulgaria, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia.

The two projects aim to implement Japan’s Kohshin technology for the automated composting of manure and organic fertilizer production, addressing two urgent challenges: manure waste management and soil health improvement. Through partnerships with livestock farms and agricultural enterprises, Kofert Organic is implementing a sustainable solution to turn manure into organic fertilizer, contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

“We are delighted with the receptiveness of the Romanian business environment towards adopting innovative technologies and express our hope that the two Kofert projects will achieve their decarbonization goals. Through our direct involvement, we aimed to provide Kohshin partners with an improved algorithm for increasing sustainability, by adding new revenue streams through the monetization of carbon credits,” said Kazunori Sumiya, CEO of Kohshin Engineering Co, Japan.

The main objective of the stakeholder meeting was to understand the project certification process to obtain CO2 credits, as a source for the future development of Kofert Organic’s sustainability.

The partnership between Carbon Expert and Kofert Organic materialized through the completion of pre-feasibility studies to certify the projects with the Gold Standard organization in Switzerland for both projects, analyzing the certification criteria, the steps to follow, associated benefits, and the projects’ environmental and community impact, essential aspects for realizing the projects’ potential in reducing methane emissions.

“For Carbon Expert, the partnership with Kofert Organic, Kohshin Engineering Co, and Kohshin Europe represents a dream come true in our path to development. We have always wanted to contribute to community projects for sustainable agriculture in Romania. We hope to expand this project not only in Romania but also to other parts of the world, so that with the help of Japanese Koshin technology and research conducted by our partners over more than 50 years, we can significantly reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers, replacing them with nutrient-rich organic fertilizers,” stated Casiana Fometescu, founder and CEO of Carbon Expert.

With over 15 years of experience in the carbon market, Carbon Expert is currently running more than 10 projects in Romania, the USA, Germany, and Ireland for voluntary certification together with the Gold Standard certification organization in Switzerland. These voluntary CO2e emission reduction projects are unique in Europe and will pave the way for obtaining voluntary carbon credits (VER – Verified Emissions Reduction) in this region.

Carbon Expert coordinates the “energy and CO2e emissions” working group within the Circular Economy Coalition, targeting the legislative and business environments. It also coordinates the process of obtaining carbon credits for various projects in plastic, aluminum, and glass recycling, energy efficiency projects, and biocompost or biofuel production.