Monitoring emissions from agriculture and food supply chains

672.  Robust measurement of emissions from agriculture can drive good management practices and create the conditions for new markets to thrive. Enabling practical on-farm measurement of emissions in a consistent way will empower farmers to not only manage those emissions, but to see decarbonisation as an opportunity and consider new business models supplying low carbon produce or taking advantage of carbon management schemes.

"Government, farmers, the food supply chain and finance need to agree on a common set of metrics that comprehensively measures the environmental outcomes from the change in farming practices. In doing so, farmers can be rewarded for achieving targets by the government, their supply chain customers, and even other private sector players who would like to support nature-based solutions in the UK. It also avoids unnecessary costs for farmers in learning how to fill data from multiple measurement tools." NatWest Group490

673.  Robust measurement of emissions from agriculture can drive good management practices and create the conditions for new markets to thrive. Consistency of emissions data collection and methodology across the food supply chain can also pave the way for more transparent engagement with consumers on carbon impacts of choices (see Pillar 5 on eco-labelling).

"A lack of readily-available GHG emissions data in a standardised format from smaller companies upstream and downstream in value chains [in sectors beyond just agriculture] makes even the compilation of an accurate carbon inventory challenging, much less taking measures to decarbonise." - Business in the Community491

"A key challenge for Food and Drink businesses is the difficulties in measuring their Scope 3 emissions. For these businesses, scope 3 emissions are typically a substantial proportion of their total organisational footprint, and there is increasing pressure from customers, investors, and other stakeholders to measure, report, and reduce emissions these emissions. Scope 3 emissions encompass the indirect emissions that occur outside of a company's direct control, which arise from the wider value chain." - WRAP492

674.  By 2025, Government should ensure that 50% of UK-based food and drink businesses measure and report their scope 3 emissionsxxvii against a government- and industry-agreed standard. Defra and UKRI research should prioritise innovations that support on-farm measurement and processes to accurately collect the remainder by 2030.

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xxvii  Scope 3 emissions are the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly affects in its value chain.