MPS-MIND | Explanation of the optimised methodology and calculation of crop protection

Old methodology
In the old methodology, standards were established for active substances in the green, amber, and red categories. These standards, consisting of lower and upper limits, were based on usage and determined how many points you could earn for your usage. If the usage was below the lower limit, the maximum number of points was awarded. If the upper limit was exceeded, this resulted in a deduction of points for amber and red substances, while green substances earned zero points.

The standards were designed to encourage the use of the lowest possible quantity of crop protection agents. However, as outlined above, changes in the composition of crop protection agents were not sufficiently taken into account. Therefore, a new methodology has been developed to make the impact of crop protection usage more visible.

New methodology
In the revised methodology, your total score for crop protection in the qualification is based on the MIND impact score of your crop protection agents usage. Your score is calculated using an upper and lower threshold; this set of standards applies to the total use of crop protection agents. There are no longer three separate sets of standards for green, amber, and red active substances. This means you no longer receive separate (plus or minus) points for green, amber, or red active substances; everything is combined into the total use of crop protection agents. A MIND impact score is calculated for each active substance, where green substances are counted once, amber substances 1.5 times, and red substances 2.4 times. Amber and red substances therefore carry more weight than green ones.

The MIND impact score is calculated as follows:

MIND impact score = (kg of green active substances × 1) + (kg of amber active substances × 1.5) + (kg of red active substances × 2.4)

For example, if you use 15 kg of green active substances, your MIND impact score is 15.
If you use 2 kg of amber and 1 kg of red active substances, your MIND impact score is 5.4.

This weighting has been established based on the ratio between the colours, taking into account the average e-score. The e-score is calculated to assign a colour to an active substance, where a higher e-score indicates a correspondingly higher potential risk of the substance. This means, among other things, that the average e-score of amber substances is 1.5 times higher than that of green substances.