{"id":2838,"date":"2026-03-11T12:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cooperategreen.com\/sbti-why-the-agrifood-sector-needs-other-climate-goals\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T12:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:51:26","slug":"sbti-why-the-agrifood-sector-needs-other-climate-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/sbti-why-the-agrifood-sector-needs-other-climate-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"SBTi: Why the agrifood sector needs other climate goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pressure is mounting on the agrifood sector to reduce climate impacts. Food production accounts for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, including from agricultural activities, land use and land use change. At the same time, the sector faces a unique challenge: some emissions simply cannot be completely avoided. To still help companies align their climate goals with the Paris Agreement, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)<\/em> has developed special guidelines for the sector, including so-called FLAG targets. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why agrifood is different<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In many sectors, the focus is on reducing emissions from energy use, transportation or industrial processes. With technological innovation and the transition to renewable energy, these emissions could theoretically be reduced to near zero. <\/p>\n

In the agrifood sector, the situation is different. Agriculture inevitably produces emissions such as methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from soils through fertilization. Even with more efficient farming practices and innovative techniques, these emissions will never completely disappear. That means a traditional “net zero” approach, where all emissions eventually disappear or are fully offset, is less realistic for primary production. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The role of FLAG targets<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To recognize this reality, SBTi developed a specific category: FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) goals<\/strong>. These targets focus on emissions from land use and agricultural activities. Examples include: <\/p>\n

    \n
  • Emissions from agricultural soils<\/li>\n
  • Methane from livestock production<\/li>\n
  • Emissions from deforestation or land use change.<\/li>\n
  • Carbon storage in soils and vegetation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    FLAG targets recognize that companies in the agrifood chain face different emission sources than, for example, industry or energy companies. Therefore, organizations may set separate reduction targets for their FLAG emissions in addition to their regular emission reduction targets. <\/p>\n

    At the same time, the agrifood sector also offers a unique opportunity to actively sequester carbon. Through measures such as improved soil management, agroforestry and ecosystem restoration, CO\u2082 from the atmosphere can be stored in soils and vegetation. These forms of carbon removal<\/strong> play an important role within the FLAG methodology and show that agriculture is not only part of the problem, but can also be part of the solution. <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What does this mean for companies in the industry?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    For agrifood companies, this means that their climate strategy has two parts:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Regular emission reduction:<\/strong> Emissions from energy use, transportation and production processes are reduced according to the standard SBTi methodology.<\/li>\n
    2. FLAG Emission Reduction:<\/strong> Emissions from agriculture and land use are addressed through specific measures, such as:\n
        \n
      • Sustainable agricultural practices<\/li>\n
      • Improved soil management<\/li>\n
      • Preventing deforestation in chains<\/li>\n
      • Ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Additional complexity for businesses<\/strong><\/h4>\n

        The introduction of FLAG targets also means additional work for many agrifood companies. Emissions from agriculture and land use are often more complex to map than energy use, for example. Companies must collect data on agricultural practices, land use and chain emissions, which in many cases requires close collaboration with suppliers and farmers. <\/p>\n

        This approach ensures that climate goals really match the reality of the sector. However, it does require more preparation than a standard SBTi project. That is precisely why it is valuable to tackle this with an experienced partner. <\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        A realistic route to climate goals<\/strong><\/h4>\n

        The FLAG goals allow for climate targets that are both ambitious and realistic for the agrifood sector. Companies are given a clear framework to reduce their impact on land use and agricultural emissions while taking into account the biological and environmental limits of food production. <\/p>\n

        With the FLAG guidelines, SBTi offers the industry an important step toward credibly contributing to global climate goals.<\/p>\n

        Want to know how Cooperate Green helps your organization set and validate FLAG goals? Get in touch with us. We’d love to think with you. <\/strong><\/p>\n

        <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Pressure is mounting on the agrifood sector to reduce climate impacts. Food production accounts for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, including from agricultural activities, land use and land use change. At the same time, the sector faces a unique challenge: some emissions simply cannot be completely avoided. To still help companies align […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"SBTi: Why the agrifood sector needs other climate goals - Cooperate Green","description":"Pressure is mounting on the agrifood sector to reduce climate impacts. Food production accounts for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, in"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geen-onderdeel-van-een-categorie"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2838"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2850,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2838\/revisions\/2850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cooperategreen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}