3Keel report identifies three principles to help organisations abate agricultural emissions
News story
27 January 2025
A new report from 3Keel highlights three principles to help organisations reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land use, as well as improve the resilience of communities, landscapes and ecosystems.
Funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the report outlines principles, best practice and recommendations to support progress towards climate change mitigation targets, while at the same time fostering resilience, supporting farmer livelihoods, and delivering co-benefits for nature.
The report focuses on ‘Within Value Chain Mitigation’ (WVCM) – a strategy for organisations to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural supply chains – and is designed for sustainability professionals and decisionmakers in downstream sectors of agricultural supply chains.
It also provides valuable insights for financial stakeholders and upstream actors including agri-input providers.
Key findings
The report highlights three principles for organisations to deliver high-quality ‘Within Value Chain Mitigation’ outcomes, as well as providing recommendations and guidance on how to achieve them. The three principles are:
- Pre-competitive collaboration maximises on-the-ground impact
- Activities should prioritise farmer resilience and fair reward
- Monitoring, reporting and verification systems need to be robust yet proportionate.
Although formulated in a UK policy context, the majority of the standards and guidance involved in the principles and recommendations are globally applicable.
What’s more, scenarios within the report – of specific supply chains such as UK beef and Ghanaian cocoa – not only demonstrate how to apply WVCM principles, but also highlight supply-chain-specific challenges and solutions.
The report focuses on Within Value Chain Mitigation, a strategy to reduce Scope 3 emissions in agricultural supply chains.
“I’m delighted to announce the publication of this new report in collaboration with Defra, DESNZ, and the organisations involved in our wider Advisory Group,” said Emily Scott, Senior Consultant at 3Keel.
“This report marks an important step forward for organisations looking to set and achieve science-based climate targets, address agricultural scope 3 emissions, and bolster the resilience of our landscapes and ecosystems.”
The report itself: A systems approach
An Advisory Group of experts from across the supply chain and enabling environment (detailed below) helped to shape the findings and recommendations of the report.
As part of the process, 3Keel conducted three dedicated stakeholder engagement workshops to refine the principles and scenarios, focusing on representatives from retail, farming, certification bodies and environmental NGOs.
Moreover, to enhance the accuracy and detail of the scenarios involved, 3Keel also held individual interviews with actors from various roles in beef and cocoa supply chains. These one-on-one discussions provided critical, ground-level insights into the challenges and opportunities for WVCM implementation.
The report covers specific supply chains, such as Ghanaian cocoa, and demonstrates how to apply WVCM principles.
Looking ahead
“From delivering co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation and enhanced farmer livelihoods through to strengthening the resilience of agricultural supply chains, the principles, recommendations and research in this report are critical to supporting an effective transition to sustainable land management practices,” said 3Keel Consultant Megan MacGillivray.
“It’s clear that we’re seeing a shift in thinking across sectors to a more holistic approach. Organisations throughout the supply chain are increasingly realising that the same mechanism can deliver multiple benefits across a whole system – rather than focusing on one outcome alone, such as reducing carbon emissions.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the principles and recommendations within this report taken up by industry, and by the public sector, and introduced into new ways of working.”
3Keel would like to extend its thanks to individuals from WWF, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Ruscombe Farm Partnership, Lloyds Banking Group, Conservation International, Soil Association Exchange, Yeo Valley, World Resources Institute, Sustainable Food Trust, and Nestle UK & Ireland for their contributions to the Advisory Group.
If you’d like to find out more, you can see the full report here: ‘Addressing agricultural scope 3 emissions: Best-practice principles for Within Value Chain Mitigation.’
We would love to hear any feedback you have on the report. Please share your feedback here, which is invaluable in helping us to understand the impact of this work, refine our approach – and shape the next steps for supporting a transition to sustainable agricultural land management.