30. Real sustainability: consumption, waste and recovery

The word "sustainability" has become a label. Everyone uses it, few really measure it.
In vertical farming, sustainability is not a claim-it is a sum of consumption, recoveries, and design decisions.
And in an industry where energy and logistics costs drive competitiveness, technology, automation, and distribution make the difference between a sustainable plant and an inefficient one.

1. Water consumption: the inherent advantage of hydroponics

The traditional agricultural supply chain wastes water at every stage: drainage, evaporation, inaccurate irrigation.
A closed hydroponic system reduces this waste by 70 to 95 percent.

Why so little water is consumed

• Continuous recirculation

• Evaporation control

• Precise irrigation per plant

• No soil leaking nutrient solution

Tomato+ technology makes this principle even more efficient with automated management of irrigation cycles, which prevents waste even in the low-flow micro-cycles typical of indoor multilayer.

2. Energy: from critical point to strength

Energy consumption is the real needle in the balance in any vertical farm.
Most companies focus their efforts on LED efficiency but forget one key element: heat management.

The problem with traditional vertical farms.

LEDs heat up.
And the heat stored above the plants requires:

• more air conditioning,

• more dehumidification,

• more airflow.

Result: a huge share of energy consumption is not related to light, but to the need to dispose of light in the form of heat.

2.1. The Tomato+ solution: liquid-cooled LEDs.

Tomato+ systems use professional LEDs with integrated liquid cooling. This radically changes the energy balance of the system.

Because they are more sustainable

• Heat is not released into the air above the plants.

• The liquid circuit removes heat directly at the source.

• Water, circulating between all levels, homogenizes temperatures and reduces heat loads on HVAC systems.

• No "heat pockets" requiring forced ventilation are created.

Measurable result

👉 Up to 50 percent reduction in energy effort required for air conditioning, airflow and dehumidification.

This is not a detail: it is what allows a vertical farm to go from "technically functioning" to "economically viable."

3. Waste eliminated at the root

Indoor growing can dramatically reduce waste and waste.

How

• Monitored and automated growth

• Growth plans optimized through AI

• Zero surplus production

• No spoilage from transport

In Tomato+, production is software-modulated: you grow what you need when you need it, avoiding overproduction and unsold produce.

4. Recovery: water, nutrients, heat, CO₂.

A sustainable plant does not just reduce: it recovers.

Water recovery.

90-95% of the water transpired by plants can be condensed and reused.

Nutrient recovery

Nutrient solution is monitored, filtered, replenished: zero leakage.

Heat recovery

The liquid cooling system of LEDs allows:

• direct heat recovery in concentrated form,

• less load on HVAC,

• greater stability of the growing environment.

CO₂ recovery.

The CO₂ input is almost totally utilized by the plants, with no waste or leakage.

5. Metrics that really matter

A vertical farm is sustainable only if it can prove it with numbers.

The essential metrics:

• liters of water per kg of product

• kWh per kg

• percentage of energy recovered

• percentage of nutrients recycled

• CO₂ equivalent saved

• total waste (biomass + logistics)

• man hours per kg produced

Tomato+ software collects this data continuously, providing an objective view of impact and improvements over time.

6. The problem no one wants to face: transportation

Centralized mega vertical farms solve production...but they don't solve the most impactful problem in the supply chain:

refrigerated transport.

It is expensive, energy-intensive, and responsible for:

• high emissions,

• wastage from spoilage,

• loss of quality,

• unpredictable logistics costs.

Many vertical farms produce in a single hub and distribute hundreds of miles away:
a contradiction in terms, especially when it comes to sustainability.

6.1. The Tomato+ model: distributed local production

True sustainability comes when you take transportation out of the supply chain.

With Tomato+:

• the greenhouse is close to the point of consumption,

• production is modular and scalable,

• no cold chain is needed,

• no trucks are needed,

• the crop does not travel: it is consumed where it is born.

This eliminates the main Achilles' heel of centralized vertical farms.
And it enables a new food model: fresh, local, without heavy logistics.

7. The modern paradox: more technology = less impact

In traditional farming, technology increases impact.
In well-designed vertical farming, it reduces it.

• Automation → fewer errors → less waste

• Liquid-cooled LEDs → less HVAC consumption

• AI → continuous optimization

• Local production → zero transportation

• Data → processes that can be improved in real time

Modern sustainability is not a return to nature: it is a technological leap.

Conclusion

The future of agriculture does not depend on how much energy we use, but how we use it.
Vertical farming becomes sustainable when it:

• it reduces waste,

• recovers what it produces,

• optimizes what it consumes,

• eliminates transportation,

• distributes production,

• uses technology to multiply efficiency.

This is where sustainability becomes real, measurable and scalable.

Thank you for reading this article. Keep following us to discover new content on hydroponics, vertical farming, and smart agriculture.
Tomato+ Team