As part of the ongoing fight against climate change, industries and organizations around the world have recognized the importance of setting science-based targets to reduce their carbon footprint.
The agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector accounts for nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making its role critical. As these efforts have expanded, the SBTi FLAG has emerged as an essential tool for guiding the decarbonization of this sector and increasing corporate accountability.
What is the SBTi initiative?
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi ) was founded by a partnership comprising CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Its main goal is to help companies understand how much they need to reduce their emissions—and how quickly—to align with the latest climate science. The goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 °C compared to pre-industrial levels, with a target of 1.5 °C, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
What does “FLAG” stand for?
The acronym FLAG stands for “Forest, Land, and Agriculture.”
This is the terminology used by the SBTi to refer to the land sector, which is unique in that it is both a major source of emissions and an essential carbon sink for climate change mitigation.
The SBTi FLAG standard provides a structured method to ensure that companies assess the overall impact of their activities on the climate.
This framework provides very specific guidelines for the accounting treatment of three distinct items:
- Land-Use Change (LUC): Historical and current emissions associated, for example, with deforestation or the conversion of peatlands.
- Land management (non-LUC): Emissions associated with day-to-day agricultural practices (enteric fermentation in ruminants, manure management, use of synthetic fertilizers, fuel consumption by machinery).
- Carbon sequestration (Removals): This is the major new feature of this standard. FLAG enables and provides a framework for accounting for carbon stored in soils, forests, and through technologies such as biochar.
Who is affected by the SBTi FLAG methodology?
The SBTi FLAG framework is mandatory for two groups of stakeholders:
- Land-intensive industries: These include agricultural and livestock food production, food and beverage processing, food retail, forestry and paper products, and tobacco.
- Other companies exceeding a certain threshold: Any company operating in a different sector, but whose emissions related to forests, land, and agriculture account for 20% or more of its total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, must set a FLAG target.
How should these goals be set? (The two approaches)
Companies can create a decarbonization pathway using the SBTi FLAG methodology by choosing one of two approaches based on their profile:
- The “Commodity Pathways” Approach: The SBTi has defined specific reduction pathways for 11 high-impact commodities (beef, dairy, pork, poultry, wood and wood fiber, rice, soy, palm oil, corn, and wheat).
- The “Sector Pathway” Approach: For companies with highly diversified supply chains or those that do not fall under the 11 key raw materials, this approach provides a comprehensive decarbonization pathway for the entire AFOLU sector.
The Essential Commitment: Zero Deforestation
An absolute prerequisite of the SBTi FLAG standard is combating deforestation. To validate their targets, companies must make a public “zero deforestation” commitment with a deadline no later than 2025.
From Theory to Practice: The Challenge of Primary Data
Implementing the SBTi FLAG targets presents companies with a colossal challenge, particularly with regard to their Scope 3 emissions Scope 3 indirect emissions from their supply chains).
To accurately assess emissions reductions or claim carbon sequestration in the soils of their partner farmers, the use of generic emission factors (national averages) is no longer sufficient.
Companies must now rely on digital MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) solutions—such as platforms like MyEasyCarbon or MyEasySpheres that are capable of collecting reliable, traceable, and verifiable primary data directly from the field (parcel-level data, satellite remote sensing, agricultural machinery).
This is the price that must be paid for truly regenerative agriculture to be certified and recognized on a global scale.
For more information on SBTi FLAG, visit sciencebasedtarget.org.
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