Measuring carbon footprints for sustainable food systems

Demands for tracking greenhouse gas emissions at both the farm and product levels are rising across food system value chains and within agricultural farms. This trend is driven by corporate goals (e.g., SBTi), regulatory requirements (such as CSRD or SEC), and carbon market frameworks. As calculations often lack comparability, this session focuses on the need for harmonized calculation methods—covering both farm-level climate footprints and the carbon footprints of food products—to foster more sustainable food systems. In this panel discussion, we will examine current approaches to greenhouse gas accounting at the farm level and along food system value chains across various countries, as well as the potential for—and challenges of—using carbon footprints to contribute to sustainable, climate-friendly food systems. We will also discuss the diverse national approaches to farm-level climate footprints and how these can be better harmonized.