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.
For most companies that produce or source agriculture or forestry commodities, land use change (ie, deforestation and conversion of grasslands, savannahs, and other ecosystems) is the largest single source of carbon emissions in their operations or supply chains.
Therefore, protecting natural ecosystems and supporting suppliers to do the same is the most impactful action that these companies can take to meet their climate goals. This means that the decisions and actions that companies take to achieve deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains are in many cases the same ones that they will need to take to reduce their emissions footprint.
In addition, land use emissions stay in a company’s climate footprint far into the future, well after the deforestation or conversion occurs. Therefore, companies that want to demonstrate leadership on climate action should prioritise reducing land use change as quickly as possible. 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.
Most agricultural emissions come from land use change
The AFi has collaborated with leading experts to better understand and communicate the role of action on deforestation and conversion in meeting emissions reduction goals.
This includes work with consultancy AdAstra to model the impacts of supply chain interventions on FLAG emissions trajectories. This work is ongoing and full results are forthcoming. For a sneak peek of the modelling outputs for soy in Brazil, palm oil in Malaysia, and cocoa in Ghana, click the download button below.
Address your climate and nature risks
The AFi, GHG Protocol, SBTi, and SBTN have developed an integrated suite of practical, aligned, and complementary tools to support companies in setting and achieving sustainability goals. Companies that produce, trade, or source agricultural or forestry commodities anywhere in the world can use these tools to account for and reduce deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and land use change emissions in their supply chains.
In partnership with GreenBiz, the AFi explored the immediate steps companies can take to position themselves to meet a range of land sector goals associated with their operations, supply chain, and investments in a webcast on Aligning corporate targets for forests, climate, and nature.
Hear company insights
Additional information on aligned target setting, accounting, and disclosure for deforestation, ecosystem conversion, and land use change emissions is available in the AFi’s webinar on Deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains and land use change emissions.
There we welcomed speakers from IKEA and Nestlé who shared insights about their companies’ climate and nature journeys. They are among the thousands of companies using industry guidelines, tools, and standards that are aligned with the Accountability Framework.
