To support its farming customers’ transition to a low-carbon future, Virgin Money has invested in the deployment of a carbon measurement tool, which will allow farmers to estimate their emissions footprint and understand potential mitigation measures on their own farms, in less than 30 minutes.
Virgin Money’s aim is to help and support farmers planning a future with lower carbon and greater biodiversity, whilst continuing to produce food to the very highest standards. Virgin Money will offer selected customers free access to this programme from early 2026.
Designed in partnership with Virgin Money by leading UK agricultural and environmental technology firm Trinity AgTech, the bespoke Rapid environmental assessment programme will help farmers begin their sustainability journey in a science-based, accessible, and practical way. Building on Trinity AgTech’s extensive experience in natural capital and carbon accounting the Rapid system takes basic farm data, such as crop areas, livestock numbers, fuel use and inputs, and turns it into outputs that show estimated carbon emissions across the whole business.
Brian Richardson, Head of Agriculture at Virgin Money gives further background: “Amongst the many challenges our farmers currently face, the agricultural industry needs to deliver its ambitious commitment to carbon reduction in a way that works alongside the essential job of food production.
“For some time, we have been working with our farming customers to use this as an opportunity to improve their carbon and business performance, recognising that carbon often represents a significant cost to the farm. We have worked closely with the Trinity AgTech team to design a simple tool which takes basic farm data and turns it into meaningful outputs. This is the starting point for introductory benchmarking against their current carbon position, mapping out a plan to reduce emissions and improve on-farm sustainability, and make informed decisions on appropriate actions to include in their future business plans.”
Brian Richardson, head of agriculture at Virgin Money
Scott McFarlane, Senior Manager responsible for Business Sustainable Finance, emphasises the wider benefits that farmers gain from carbon reduction and broader natural capital management. “Using Rapid will help farmers understand where they can potentially reduce emissions across aspects of their business and make informed management decisions about investment options. Taking this initiative can support long-term resilience and natural capital management.”
For farmers who wish to explore deeper analysis beyond the carbon-based, free Rapid assessment, Virgin Money’s partnership with Trinity AgTech will also provide discounted access to Trinity’s award-winning solution Sandy, a full-service end-to-end natural capital platform that offers detailed modelling, bespoke action plans, and advanced insights to improve productivity and resilience. Sandy allows users to fully understand the relationships between carbon, biodiversity, water and soils, their farming outputs and profitability; aligned with major global standards.
Giving further background Anna Woodley, Managing Director at Trinity AgTech, said: “Trinity’s approach is science-led and built around the reality that every farm enterprise is different, so calculations must be tailored accordingly. Rapid has been developed as a fast, barrier-free way for farmers to bring natural capital into everyday business decision-making, while Sandy is the logical next step for those who want deeper detail, greater functionality and a more comprehensive picture over time. Together, they can support all farming systems, enterprises and scales — organic and conventional, owned and tenanted, arable and livestock, dairy and poultry, viticulture, controlled environment, anaerobic digestion, ornamental horticulture, woodlands and more.
Rapid is underpinned by the same robust modelling as Sandy, drawing directly on what we have learned from delivering full-detail assessments. It focuses on the factors that most strongly influence a farm’s footprint, reduces duplication by using single answers in multiple places, and automatically integrates relevant location-based data such as soils and climate. The science remains as rigorous as ever — Rapid simply shifts the administrative burden away from the farmer and into the ‘engine room’, making it easier than ever to get started and progress with confidence.”
Brian Richardson concludes: “This initiative reinforces Virgin Money’s commitment to our farming customers and delivering our purpose of ‘Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for the good of society’. We recognise that the future of agricultural finance will depend on a deep understanding of environmental assets. Soil, biodiversity, carbon and water are not just resources, they are natural and financial assets, and by helping farmers understand and value them, Virgin Money is supporting the farming supply chain and enabling farmers to better understand their environmental opportunities.”