Most Scope 3 data is still based on averages, emissions factors and lifecycle databases. It is the best available approach in many cases, but it means the biggest part of the footprint is also the least specific.
Two farms with very different practices can end up looking the same in reporting. That makes it harder to see where progress is happening, or where to focus effort.
As expectations increase from retailers, investors and SBTi, there is a shift from simply having numbers to being able to stand over them. That is where clearer, farm-level data starts to matter.
The visibility gap
There is a stat I keep coming back to in conversations with food companies, and it tends to land the same way every time. In most agri-food supply chains, more than 70% of emissions sit at farm level. Not in factories. Not in transport. Not in packaging. On farms.
And yet, if you look at how most companies actually track and manage data across their supply chain, the farm is still the least visible part of it. That gap is where a lot of the current frustration is coming from.
Why averages create a problem
Most Scope 3 Category 1 data is still based on a mix of averages, emissions factors and lifecycle databases. It is the best available approach in a lot of cases. But it does create a situation where the biggest part of your footprint is also the least specific.
Take two dairy farms supplying into the same processor. One has invested in feed changes, better fertiliser use, maybe some work around soil and grassland management. The other is running in a more traditional way. Those two farms are not the same from an emissions point of view. But if you are using regional averages, they basically show up as the same thing in your reporting.
From reporting to action
At that point, the question becomes less about collecting data and more about what kind of data is actually useful. Perfect data is probably not realistic in agriculture. But you can get to a point where the data is good enough to make decisions.
When you start to get a clearer view at farm level, the conversation changes. Instead of just asking what your footprint is, you can start asking where the biggest opportunities are, which suppliers are performing well, and where support or investment might have the most impact.
Instead of asking “What is our footprint?” companies can start asking where the biggest opportunities are, which suppliers are performing well, and where investment will have the greatest impact.
