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GHG Protocol has released a second draft of its Agricultural Guidance for open comment.
The Agricultural Guidance is an international supplement to the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard that aims to customize the latter to the agricultural sector, while addressing the unique challenges posed by the sector - accounting for reversible carbon stocks in soils and biomass, setting and tracking progress toward reduction targets against a background of highly variable emissions, quantifying emissions, etc. The Guidance is intended for use by producers (agricultural, fishery and horticultural operations), downstream companies seeking to quantify their scope 3 emissions from agricultural suppliers, and GHG reporting programs and policy makers. The specific objectives of this publication are to:
- Increase consistency and transparency in GHG accounting and reporting within the sector
- Help companies cost-effectively prepare GHG inventories that are true and fair accounts of their climate impact, through the use of standardized approaches and principles
- Enable GHG inventories to meet the decision-making needs of both internal management and external stakeholders (e.g., investors) and so provide for the more effective management of emissions along the agricultural supply chain
The current (second) draft of the Guidance was developed between June 2012 and March 2013, and incorporates feedback from a Technical Advisory Group that comprises ~80 organizations, as well as from three in-person workshops in Washington, D.C., and São Paulo.
The project is now entering an important phase of public consultation between 25th March and May 31st, 2013. During this phase we want to hear the views of a wider range of stakeholders on the draft, with the overall goal of ensuring consistency and quality in the final version. Both the draft and a feedback form are provided below. Please make sure to submit all feedback using the feedback form, which should be sent to opencomment@wri.org prior to May 31, 2013. This public comment period is being held concurrently with the road testing of the Guidance in select companies. The GHG Protocol will develop a third draft based on feedback from the open comment period and road testing. It will also release a separate document summarizing all public comments and how these comments have been addressed in the third draft. The Guidance is scheduled for publication in December, 2013.
Please direct any questions to opencomment@wri.org.
GHG Protocol is also developing Brazil-specific guidance for the agricultural sector and is currently holding an open comment period for Brazilian stakeholders. More details are available here.
Documents
Agriculture Guidance Draft for Public Comment |
Agriculture Guidance Feedback Form |