A New Era for Agricultural and Land-Based Emissions Accounting

Why the GHG Protocol’s Land Sector and Removals Standard Is a Breakthrough for Companies and Farmers

For companies seeking to decarbonize agricultural and land-based emission sources, a long-standing challenge has been the lack of clear and consistent rules for how land-sector emissions and removals are accounted for and reported. Emissions associated with the Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) sector are distinct in nature, requiring sector-specific goal-setting frameworks, such as those developed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), as well as tailored accounting approaches.

In response to this need, the GHG Protocol published the draft Land Sector and Removals Guidance in 2022 as an interim resource. However, several important accounting questions remained unresolved, and the absence of finalized requirements contributed to wide variability in how land-sector emissions and removals were treated across companies and programs, creating hesitation to invest confidently in land-based decarbonization solutions.

With the publication of the final Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS), the GHG Protocol has now defined a finalized, robust framework for companies to account for and report land-sector emissions and CO₂ removals. After a rigorous, multi-year global consultation and pilot testing process, the Standard provides the clarity and consistency that the market has urgently needed.

What the LSRS Is — and Why It Matters for Corporate Climate Accounting

The LSRS is the first corporate GHG accounting standard to offer comprehensive, standardized requirements for how emissions and removals from land management, land use change, biogenic products, and CO₂ removal technologies are counted in corporate inventories. It builds on the existing GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard, expanding the framework to reflect the real climate impacts of agricultural supply chains and emerging CO₂ removal pathways.

The Standard takes effect on January 1, 2027, giving companies time to prepare for implementation. Accompanying guidance with calculation methodologies, examples, and case studies is expected to follow later in 2026.

What’s New in the LSRS — and Why It Changes Land-Sector Accounting

Clear Accounting Rules for Agricultural Emissions

For the first time, companies must account for and report a defined set of land-sector sources, including land use change emissions, land management net biogenic CO₂ emissions such as soil carbon stock changes, land management production emissions including livestock and fertilizer use, and emissions associated with biogenic agricultural products.

This closes a long-standing gap in corporate GHG inventories and brings agricultural emissions into the same reporting rigor applied to fossil fuel–based sources.

High-Integrity CO₂ Removal Accounting

The LSRS introduces structured, high-integrity criteria for including CO₂ removals in corporate GHG inventories, covering both nature-based removals like soil carbon sequestration and engineered removals such as direct air capture with geological storage.

While reporting removals remains optional, the Standard requires robust lifecycle accounting, improved data quality, traceability, permanence considerations, and safeguards against double counting. This ensures that removals reflected in inventories represent real, durable climate benefits.

Traceability Across Supply Chains

A central theme of the Standard is traceability: connecting emissions and removals to specific land areas and management practices rather than relying solely on generalized emission factors. This supports more accurate Scope 3 accounting for agricultural supply chains and raises expectations around supplier engagement and primary data collection.

Why the LSRS Matters Beyond Accounting

The Land Sector and Removals Standard addresses more than technical accounting mechanics. It directly tackles two structural challenges that have historically limited the climate impact of land-based solutions.

1. Regulatory Certainty Unlocks Economic Opportunity for Regenerative Farmers

The Standard introduces much-needed regulatory and reporting certainty into a historically fragmented landscape. Clear, standardized rules reduce ambiguity for companies and investors, making it easier to commit to land-based decarbonization programs with confidence.

For regenerative farmers and land managers, this clarity translates into greater economic optionality. When emissions reductions and removals can be consistently accounted for and recognized in corporate GHG inventories, regenerative practices are more likely to be embedded into supply chain strategies, incentive programs, and procurement decisions.

By aligning expectations across farmers, companies, and reporting frameworks, the LSRS helps ensure that those adopting regenerative practices can participate more fully and more fairly in emerging climate-aligned markets.

2. Accurate Measurement Is Foundational to Real Climate Progress

To meaningfully address climate change, companies and policymakers need an accurate understanding of both current emissions and the interventions designed to reduce or remove them. In the land sector, this has been particularly challenging due to the variability of agricultural systems and the time-bound nature of removals such as soil carbon sequestration.

Without clear accounting rules, land-sector emissions and removals risk being overstated, understated, or excluded altogether, weakening climate targets and slowing real progress. The LSRS establishes a consistent framework for measuring and reporting these dynamics, enabling a more complete and credible picture of how land-based activities contribute to both emissions and climate solutions.

What the LSRS Means for Farmers and Land Managers

For farmers and land managers, the LSRS brings long-needed clarity to how land-based emissions and removals are defined, accounted for, and reported. Practices that affect soil carbon, biomass, and land use have often existed in a grey area, measured inconsistently or excluded altogether from corporate inventories.

While the Standard does not prescribe how land should be managed day to day, it shapes what data is requested, how outcomes are interpreted, and how land-based climate impacts are recognized across value chains. Connecting on-farm data to downstream reporting processes is therefore becoming increasingly important.

Implications for Corporate Supply-Chain Decarbonization

For companies, the LSRS defines how FLAG-sector emissions and removals are incorporated into corporate GHG inventories, particularly across Scope 3 supply chains.

It sets expectations around inventory boundaries, data quality, traceability, and consistency, while also clarifying how and under what conditions removals may be included. For companies pursuing supply-chain decarbonization, this brings greater confidence that land-based interventions can be credibly reflected in reporting—alongside higher expectations for transparency and rigor.

Why Arva Is Well Positioned for the LSRS Era

At Arva, we have long focused on building the data infrastructure needed to accurately measure, trace, and report land-based climate impacts. The LSRS validates this approach by formalizing requirements for high-quality land-sector accounting.

Because Arva’s platform is designed to connect on-farm data directly to corporate GHG inventories with transparency and traceability, we are well positioned to help companies and farmers meet the Standard’s requirements—whether the goal is accurate Scope 3 reporting, tracking regenerative agriculture outcomes, or aligning supply-chain decarbonization programs with emerging global standards.

Looking Ahead: From Standard to Scaled Impact

The Land Sector and Removals Standard represents a major milestone in making regenerative agriculture a core component of credible climate strategies. By providing a clear and consistent framework for land-sector emissions and removals, it enables stronger corporate decarbonization efforts and deeper alignment between farmers, supply chains, and climate commitments.

To learn more about how Arva is working to connect companies with regenerative farmers and enable high-integrity land-sector accounting, visit arva.com.