Agricultural carbon accounting is entering a new era. The finalization of the GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS), evolving SBTi expectations, and increasing scrutiny of land-based climate claims are pushing organizations to strengthen how they measure, report, and verify emissions across agricultural supply chains.
For sustainability, procurement, and carbon accounting leaders, the focus is shifting from setting ambitions to demonstrating credible progress. Questions around data quality, traceability, emissions removals, inventory accounting, and audit readiness are becoming increasingly important as companies look to build more defensible Scope 3 strategies.
The 3rd Carbon Accounting in Agricultural Supply Chains Summit brings together food brands, agribusinesses, farmers, researchers, and sustainability leaders to address these challenges through practical case studies and implementation-focused discussions. Here are some of the key GHG accounting sessions taking place across the agenda.
Understanding the New GHG Standards Landscape
The summit begins with a pre-conference workshop dedicated to helping attendees navigate changing standards and reporting expectations.
The morning workshop will be hosted by Tristan Brown, Vice President at Molecule Group and will discuss "Understanding & Applying the Evolving Standards Landscape Across Agricultural Supply Chains". During the session, he will examine how the updated GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard affects agricultural Scope 3 accounting, the relationship between project outcomes and inventory accounting, and how organizations can build more coherent reporting strategies across multiple frameworks. For organizations still assessing the implications of LSRS, this session provides an important foundation for understanding how reporting requirements are evolving.
Aligning Carbon Projects with Scope 3 Inventories
One of the biggest challenges facing sustainability teams is translating project-level outcomes into inventory-ready reporting.
This theme appears throughout the summit and is highlighted by the session "Aligning Project & Inventory Accounting to Meet Evolving SBTi Expectations" featuring perspectives from Kelly Rhodes, Regenerative Agriculture Performance & Data Reporting Manager at Danone, and Meredith Varie, Carbon Project Leader at Elanco.
The topic is explored further during:
- "Strengthening Dairy Carbon Data from Farm Measurements to Scalable Scope 3 Reporting" presented by Ruth Menger, Climate Data Lead at Mars
- "Evaluating Integrated Beef & Dairy Accounting Approaches to Improve Scope 3 Reporting" presented by Meredith Varie, Carbon Project Leader at Elanco
- "Designing Investable Dairy Decarbonization Strategies Using Project & Inventory Accounting" presented by Kelly Rhodes, Regenerative Agriculture Performance & Data Reporting Manager, Danone
Together, these sessions address how organizations can create consistent reporting frameworks while maintaining confidence in project-level results.
Improving Traceability and Data Confidence
Reliable GHG accounting depends on reliable data, yet traceability remains a challenge across many agricultural supply chains. Several sessions focus on improving chain-of-custody systems and strengthening data confidence, including:
"Evaluating Hybrid Chain-of-Custody Models Through a Certified Crop Registry to Improve Claimability" presented by Steffen Mueller, Associate Director, Energy Resources Center at University of Illinois Chicago. The session explores how different chain-of-custody approaches can support stronger reporting and audit readiness.
Attendees can also hear from Cristine Handel, Sustainability Director at Sumitomo Biorational Company, during "Overcoming Traceability Bottlenecks to Improve Data Confidence Across the Value Chain" which examines practical barriers to traceability and supplier participation.
In the livestock sector, Ethan Carter, Director of Sustainability at Darling Ingredients, will present "Addressing Challenges with Traceability & Standards Fit in the Middle of the Animal Agriculture Value Chain" focusing on balancing reporting requirements with real-world operational constraints.
Exploring Carbon Intensity and Emerging Market Signals
As agricultural carbon accounting evolves, organizations must also understand how carbon intensity frameworks and market incentives fit alongside traditional Scope 3 reporting.
The workshop "Navigating 45Z, CI Scoring & the New Market Signals Reshaping Agricultural Carbon Accounting" will be led by Mitch Hora, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Continuum Ag, and Dana Howng, Vice President, Strategy & Development at ZeaKal. The discussion will explore how carbon intensity accounting differs from Scope 3 methodologies and how these systems are influencing procurement and sustainability strategies.
Attendees interested in the technical side of emissions accounting can also join Michael Wang, Director & Environmental Assessment Leader at Argonne National Laboratory, for "Evaluating Feedstock Carbon Intensity Modeling to Strengthen Credible Agricultural Accounting". The session examines how farming practices, soil carbon, and downstream pathways influence carbon intensity calculations and reporting outcomes.
Accounting for Emissions Removals
Few topics are generating as much discussion as emissions removals and soil carbon accounting.
During Conference Day Two, Cornelius Streit, Vice President, Ecosystem Services APAC, Crop Science Division at Bayer, will present "Addressing Carbon Accounting Challenges in Smallholder Agricultural Systems to Unlock Credible Scope 3 Progress". The session explores how direct measurement, project-level quantification, and improved methodologies can strengthen accounting confidence within complex agricultural systems.
Alongside broader discussions on soil carbon measurement and LSRS implementation, the session will help attendees better understand how removals accounting is developing within agricultural reporting frameworks.
Why These Discussions Matter
Organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that agricultural emissions reporting is transparent, auditable, and grounded in credible methodologies. Whether the challenge is data collection, supplier engagement, traceability, inventory accounting, carbon intensity modeling, or removals accounting, the summit agenda is built around practical implementation rather than theory.
For sustainability, procurement, and carbon accounting leaders, these sessions provide an opportunity to benchmark approaches, learn from peers facing similar challenges, and better understand how agricultural GHG accounting is evolving across the industry.
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