Wedoany.com Report on Feb 9th, The Greenhouse Gas Protocol recently released the "Land Sector and Removals Standard", the first global reporting framework for greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide removals from agricultural land use. This standard aims to unify corporate disclosure of greenhouse gas information related to agriculture and land use change.
In a statement, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol noted that agricultural land use activities contribute to about a quarter of global emissions, but there has been a lack of a globally unified reporting standard. The new standard fills this gap, providing clear requirements for corporate climate accounting and establishing safeguards for companies accounting for removals. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil stated: "The new standard will bring greater accountability to the sector and reinforce industry best practices."
Certified members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil accounted for 39% of global palm oil production in 2024, and its PalmGHG V5 tool already meets many of the new standard's key requirements. The organization said: "For the past two years, we have collaborated with the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to ensure alignment between the Greenhouse Gas Protocol standard and PalmGHG V5." The Greenhouse Gas Protocol was co-founded over 20 years ago by WRI and WBCSD and has become the foundation for most corporate and national emissions reporting worldwide.
The development of the new standard took five years, receiving over 4,000 public comments, involving 300 external reviewers, and being tested by 96 companies. The standard will take effect on January 1, 2027, giving companies nearly a year to prepare. Wilmar International called it "an important step towards greater clarity, consistency, and comparability in accounting for land-based emissions and removals." The company's Director of Communications & Sustainability, Olivier Tichit, said: "We are reviewing the document requirements to identify the scope of potential changes. This may involve improvements to methodologies, data availability, and internal processes."
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol requires that any company with significant land use activities in its operations or value chain must follow the new standard. It applies to businesses of all sizes and across value chain segments, including agricultural producers, buyers, and sellers. This is the first standard in the framework requiring traceability of indirect emissions, covering emission sources such as farmers and suppliers in the supply chain. The standard-setting body stated: "Traceability rules enable companies to account for environmental benefits at the farm level while preventing double counting and fraudulent claims."
Two complex issues encountered during standard development were agricultural leakage and forest carbon accounting. For agricultural leakage emissions, companies must account for and report them separately. Rules for forest carbon accounting will be developed later and incorporated into the standard, being deferred due to differing scientific and feasibility perspectives. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol said: "Scientific rigor and feasibility are core design principles, and more time is needed to ensure they are appropriately met. Forest carbon accounting will not be included in this version." The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil noted: "The picture is not complete for forest-related commodities until requirements covering forestry and non-productive land areas are released." The organization added that the standard also needs to consider carbon sequestered through agricultural practices like soil management and reforestation.
