Land use change (LUC) emissions are a critical part of the equation for agricultural businesses’ Scope 3 reporting.
But a lack of traceability in supply chains means many companies are in the dark about what LUC within their operations truly looks like, forcing them to rely on emissions data from global, national, or regional deforestation statistics. Underestimating LUC emissions risks obscuring opportunities for targeted remediation and stalling progress towards deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains.
To directly address this blind spot, Meridia Verify calculates LUC emissions based on companies’ actual commodity production. Equipped with an evidence-based and accurate picture of their LUC emissions, organisations can now mitigate operational risk, effectively engage with suppliers, and improve the veracity of their Scope 3 reporting.
Calculating real-world LUC emissions
Depending on the level of traceability your business currently has, Verify uses one of two pathways to understand how land has changed over time within your supply chain. Both of these options align with the GHG Protocol’s Land Sector and Removals Standard.
1. Plot level direct Land Use Change (dLUC)
As part of their compliance under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), efforts to prove their supply chains are deforestation-free, or supplier engagement, some businesses have succeeded in gathering sourcing data to the plot level.
Where this information is available, Verify will analyse farm polygons against carbon stock data and land use change maps to return a precise emission factor that reflects the real conditions of each plot.
Crucially, Verify will also run tests to check these farm polygons for integrity, consistency, and plausibility, ensuring they are free from any errors that could jeopardise accuracy in calculating these emission factors.
2. Jurisdictional direct Land Use Change (jdLUC)
Where farm polygons aren’t available, Verify can nevertheless provide a reliable and evidence-backed account of LUC emissions. It does so by pinpointing crop-specific LUC emissions in a sourcing jurisdiction, with potential scopes ranging from a country to a subnational area or a defined production landscape.
As a result, businesses can perform hotspot analysis and improve the credibility of their Scope 3 reporting, even when location data is limited.
Verify’s outputs for Scope 3 reporting
1. An emission factor based on data
For both dLUC and jdLUC, Verify provides an emission factor in kg CO₂e per kg product.
2. Performance against a regional benchmark
Where a business is able to supply plot-level data, Verify compares the resulting dLUC emissions to its jurisdictional equivalent. This benchmark helps put a crop’s associated emissions in context by spotlighting how it compares to the regional average.
If a supplier’s emission intensity is below average, businesses have clear, audit-ready evidence of their lower-emission supply chain that can be used in public reporting.
A result of a higher-than-average emission intensity is also valuable information, pointing businesses to the farms where supplier engagement should be prioritised.
3. A reference data quality rating
Verify provides a quality rating to coincide with its emissions data, so teams know how much weight each result should carry in decision-making.
Get the supply base data right once
By moving past broad emissions data to determine the real operational risks in your sourcing, Verify will support the most accurate Scope 3 reporting yet. This knowledge is the crucial first step towards eliminating deforestation from your commodity supply chains.
