Land sector greenhouse gas emissions
For companies operating in the agricultural or forestry sectors, land use associated with supply chains is typically the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Eliminating deforestation and ecosystem conversion is often the single most important thing companies can do to meet climate targets.
Fortunately, companies can simultaneously address climate targets and no-deforestation and no-conversion goals through many of the same actions. Guidance from the AFi and its partners supports companies to tackle these two sets of goals in an integrated manner:
- The Science Based Targets initiative’s Forest, Land and Agriculture project (SBTi FLAG) supports companies to set credible targets for emissions reductions and carbon removals in the land sector. In line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the FLAG guidance requires companies to eliminate deforestation and conversion in their operations and supply chains. It specifically requires companies to set Accountability Framework-aligned commitments to eliminate deforestation.
- The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol’s Land Sector and Removals Guidance provides a standardised method to account for corporate emissions related to agriculture, forestry, and other land use. These methods align with the Accountability Framework’s definitions of deforestation and conversion.
- To help align corporate action on land use change and emissions, the AFi provides additional guidance in partnership with the SBTi and GHG Protocol. This guidance clarifies how companies can address land use change emissions in concert with target setting, accounting, and reporting related to commodity-driven deforestation and conversion in line with the Accountability Framework.