The Greenhouse Gas Protocol has released its first Land Sector and Removals Standard, establishing a global framework for companies to account for greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use, and to report carbon dioxide removals, in a move that will take effect from January 1, 2027 and reshape how land-based value chains are reflected in corporate climate disclosures.
The new standard, developed over five years by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol under the stewardship of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, responds to a longstanding gap in corporate reporting.
While agriculture, forestry and other land use account for about 22 percent of annual net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, companies have lacked a consistent method to quantify emissions linked to land conversion, soil degradation, livestock, fertilizer use and other land-based activities.
At the same time, global climate pathways consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C require not only deep emissions cuts but substantial carbon dioxide removals over the course of this century.
The Land Sector and Removals Standard, Version 1.0, applies to agricultural activities and carbon dioxide removal technologies, but excludes forestry pending further methodological work . It supplements the existing Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard and introduces land-specific accounting categories that companies must include if they have significant land sector activities in their operations or value chains.
Under the framework, companies that own or control agricultural land, or that purchase, process or sell agricultural commodities, are required to account for land use change emissions, including emissions from deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems. They must also report land management net biogenic carbon dioxide emissions from soil and biomass changes, and production emissions from activities such as enteric fermentation, manure management and fertilizer application.
A notable feature is the treatment of land carbon leakage. Where corporate actions displace food or feed production and drive agricultural expansion elsewhere, companies will be required to separately account for associated emissions risks beyond their direct value chains. According to the standard’s governance body, failure to address high-leakage-risk activities would systematically undercount emissions linked to finite land resources and rising global demand for agricultural products.
The standard also provides, on an optional basis, detailed rules for reporting carbon dioxide removals. These include land management removals on agricultural land and technological removals with geologic storage, such as direct air capture or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
Companies choosing to report removals must meet safeguards on life-cycle accounting, traceability, data quality and permanence, and must disclose removals separately from emissions. Any future loss of stored carbon must be reported as a reversal.
Forestry is excluded from Version 1.0 after the Independent Standards Board concluded that further methodological development and pilot testing are required before forest carbon accounting can be integrated into corporate inventories . A request for information on forest carbon accounting is expected in 2026.
For African economies, the implications are significant. Agriculture contributes between 20 and 30 percent of GDP in many sub-Saharan countries and employs a majority of the labour force. At the same time, agricultural expansion remains a principal driver of deforestation in parts of West and Central Africa, while soil degradation and climate variability constrain productivity.
As global food and consumer goods companies adopt the new accounting requirements, pressure is likely to intensify on suppliers to demonstrate traceability, quantify land-related emissions and manage land use change risks.
This could accelerate investment in farm-level data systems, satellite monitoring and supply chain traceability across African commodity sectors, from cocoa and coffee to livestock and oilseeds. However, it may also expose smallholder-dominated value chains to compliance and financing challenges if reporting burdens are not matched by technical and financial support.
According to the standard, companies must define clear spatial boundaries and traceability systems for scope 3 emissions, accounting at national, subnational or farm level depending on data availability . In African contexts where land tenure is fragmented and data systems are uneven, this requirement will test institutional capacity and public-private coordination.
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At the same time, clearer accounting of land emissions and removals could influence access to climate finance. International investors and development finance institutions increasingly scrutinise land use risks in portfolios. A harmonised framework may reduce information asymmetries and allow African agribusinesses that can demonstrate credible emissions management to differentiate themselves in export markets.
The standard does not govern carbon credit certification, but it sets out rules to avoid double counting between corporate inventories and credited emission reductions. This distinction will be relevant for African countries with active voluntary carbon markets and emerging jurisdictional REDD+ programmes, where clarity on what counts within corporate inventories versus tradable credits has been contested.
Guidance to accompany the standard, including calculation methods and case studies, is expected in the second quarter of 2026. Third-party assurance and public reporting will be required for conformance.
For African policymakers and firms alike, the Land Sector and Removals Standard signals a shift in how land, agriculture and carbon management are integrated into corporate balance sheets and climate strategies. As global buyers align with the new framework, land-based emissions and removals will become more visible in financial disclosures, with potential consequences for trade competitiveness, fiscal revenues linked to commodity exports, and the design of national climate and land use policies.
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