Partnership for credible reporting on carbon intensity of agriculture commodities
March 22, 2022 – Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) and SustainCERT announced a partnership at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco, CA, to accelerate the deployment of an end-to-end digital solution for corporate reporting on the carbon intensity of agriculture commodities. The result will unlock scalability and credibility for climate action in agriculture supply chains.
Agriculture needs to close an 11-gigaton greenhouse gas emissions gap to hold global warming below 2 degrees whilst feeding 3 billion more people by 2050. While companies strive towards net-zero targets and reducing their supply chain (or Scope 3) emissions, the level of action and investments required to close this gap needs to scale drastically.
Harnessing the power of technology for speed, scale and credibility
ESMC and SustainCERT have partnered to accelerate the deployment of SustainCERT’s scope 3 software and digital verification capabilities for agriculture value chains in the United States. The end-to-end digital solution is designed to create trust that real progress is happening on the ground and to recognize those taking action in their supply chains, thereby incentivizing much needed co-investments in climate action. The solution will also mitigate double counting risks in a way that is recognized by best-practice frameworks.
The solution will integrate the partners’ proprietary systems to enable seamless and digitized Scope 3 intervention impact monetization through the creation of verified Scope 3 units. ESMC will help pilot test and improve the solution, allowing for better alignment with user needs as well as civil society quality requirements, including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
This partnership confirms that verified Scope 3 units can drive finance at scale towards low-carbon interventions in agriculture value chains. This requires digital solutions designed to manage the inherent complexity of scope 3 accounting and that can produce credible, verified and comparable scope 3 data
Marion Verles, CEO, SustainCERT
ESMC’s collective market program is based on rigorous science to ensure our ag supply chain members and stakeholders that the emissions reductions occurring on the ground are backed up with verified data. Partnering with SustainCERT to provide insight and to test and refine the Scope 3 Software will enable our members to scale collective investments in ag supply chain interventions. Independent 3rd party verification and tracking of credible Scope 3 units is essential to meet Scope 3 emissions targets to address the climate crisis.
Debbie Reed, Executive Director, ESMC