Growing More, Emitting Less: ICL’s Climate-Positive Sustainable Fertilization

Agriculture today faces a dual challenge: feeding a growing global population while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With agriculture responsible for 10–12% of global GHG emissions, farmers and agronomists are under increasing pressure to improve productivity without increasing their environmental footprint.

The good news? Sustainable and productive farming no longer stand in opposition. ICL’s Climate Positive Range brings together fertilizer technologies that deliver measurable emissions reductions while maintaining – and often improving – agronomic performance.

The right fertilizer, applied the right way, doesn’t just feed crops. It protects the climate.

What Is Climate‑Positive Fertilization?

ICL’s Climate Positive approach is built on three complementary fertilizer technologies. Each one targets emissions at a different stage of the crop nutrition cycle, giving growers practical, science‑backed tools to reduce their carbon footprint.

1. Polysulphate & Plus Products: The Low‑Carbon Foundation

At the core of ICL’s low‑carbon portfolio is Polysulphate, a naturally mined, multi‑mineral fertilizer with one of the lowest product carbon footprints on the market – just 0.0029 kg CO₂e per kg.

But the climate benefit goes beyond its own footprint. Polysulphate’s mineral composition improves nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), enabling growers to achieve the same yields with less nitrogen input. Since nitrogen fertilizers are a major source of agricultural emissions, this reduction has a direct climate impact.

ICL’s Plus products, all based on Polysulphate, offer growers an easy way to integrate low‑carbon nutrition into existing fertilization programs – without operational disruption.

Key benefits:

• 0.0029 kg CO₂e product carbon footprint
• Suitable for organic and conventional farming
• Improves NUE, reducing total nitrogen demand

2. Water‑Soluble Fertilizers: Precision Nutrition with Lower Emissions

ICL’s water‑soluble fertilizers are engineered for precision fertigation, delivering nutrients directly to the root zone with minimal waste. This targeted approach reduces runoff, improves nutrient uptake, and significantly lowers emissions.

Research by Kuang et al. shows that switching from conventional irrigation to drip fertigation can reduce N₂O emissions by up to 66%. Since N₂O is 273× more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂, this reduction is a powerful lever for climate‑positive agriculture.

Key benefits:

• Up to 66% reduction in N₂O emissions
• Highly efficient nutrient delivery
• Ideal for irrigation‑based cropping systems

3. Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRFs): Smarter Nutrition, Lower Footprint

Controlled Release Fertilizers represent one of the most impactful innovations in modern crop nutrition. Their advanced coating releases nutrients gradually, matching plant uptake throughout the season.

This intelligent release pattern:

• reduces nutrient losses to leaching, volatilization, and runoff
• maintains or improves yields with less total fertilizer
• simplifies farm management with one application per season

ICL field trials show that CRFs can reduce nitrogen application by up to 30% per hectare — a direct and measurable reduction in the crop’s emissions factor.

Up to 30% less nitrogen per hectare – same results, lower emissions. That is the CRF difference.

Key benefits:

• Up to 30% less nitrogen with equal or better results
• Reduced nutrient losses
• Lower emissions factor per hectare

A Practical Path to Decarbonization

What makes the Climate Positive Range unique is its practicality. These solutions do not require growers to overhaul their systems. Whether a farm uses precision irrigation, granular fertilizers, or organic‑compatible inputs, there is an ICL climate‑positive product that fits seamlessly into the existing workflow.

For agronomists, the range provides a credible, data‑driven toolkit to support sustainability discussions with growers – backed by ICL’s field trials, independent research, and decades of agricultural innovation.

The Bigger Picture: Why Climate‑Positive Farming Matters

Regulations, retailer requirements, and consumer expectations are increasingly pushing agriculture toward lower‑carbon practices. Growers who act now to reduce their emissions factor will be better positioned for future market demands.

ICL’s Climate Positive Range makes this transition achievable today. By combining innovative fertilizer technologies with proven agronomic performance, ICL is helping growers worldwide produce more – with a lighter environmental footprint.

References: Kuang et al., Drip irrigation and N2O emissions reduction.

ICL internal trial data on CRF nitrogen efficiency.

Product carbon footprint data: ICL Polysulphate PCF assessment.