Increasingly, companies are concerned with lowering their carbon footprint and meeting ambitious climate commitments. The emissions linked to purchased agricultural commodities (part of scope 3) can be substantial for companies in the agriculture and food chain. However, lowering those emissions is not that straightforward. Since land use change is one of the main contributors to the carbon footprint, sourcing from agricultural areas that have been converted a long time ago is one of the options. But it is an option with little positive impact.
Another option is to source from certified farmers that implement best practices to lower fossil fuel use and increase carbon sequestration. SFAP wants to promote that option. That is why SFAP offers certificates from its certified farmers. These certificates correspond to a volume of soy that has been produced in a sustainable manner and without land use change in the past 20 years. These certificates can be acquired to lower the carbon footprint data for acquired soy. Farmers are rewarded for their effort and companies can show a lower footprint to their supply chain partners. A win-win situation.