Land Sector and Removals Guidance
The GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance (2022) provides the first comprehensive framework for accounting for land-related emissions and carbon removals in corporate GHG inventories. It is essential reading for agriculture, forestry, food, and any company with land-use activities or nature-based carbon removal projects.
The GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance (2022) provides the first comprehensive framework for accounting for land-related emissions and carbon removals in corporate GHG inventories. Land-related GHG emissions and removals are fundamentally different from fossil fuel combustion emissions.
Why land sector accounting is different
Land-related GHG emissions and removals are fundamentally different from fossil fuel combustion emissions. Key differences:
Biogenic carbon cycle: Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during growth and release it when they decompose or burn. This biogenic CO2 is part of the natural carbon cycle — its treatment in GHG accounting differs from fossil CO2, which adds new carbon to the atmosphere.
Temporality: Forest carbon removals are not permanent — a forest can be felled, burned, or lost to climate change. This contrasts with geological carbon storage (CCS) which is effectively permanent. The GHG Protocol guidance addresses how to account for impermanence risk.
Baseline dependency: Whether land use change is a source or sink depends on what would have happened without the activity — the counterfactual or baseline scenario. Forest protection credits depend on demonstrating the forest was genuinely at risk of deforestation.
Biogenic CO2 — separate disclosure
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and ESRS E1-6 both require biogenic CO2 to be disclosed separately from fossil CO2 — not netted into the headline Scope 1 figure.
Biogenic CO2 sources in corporate inventories: combustion of biomass and biofuels for energy (Scope 1); land use change emissions from deforestation or soil disturbance (Scope 1 for own land, Scope 3 Category 1 for agricultural supply chains).
Biogenic CO2 removals: forest growth on company-owned or managed land; soil carbon sequestration from regenerative agriculture; bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
For companies with forestry or agricultural operations: the Land Sector Guidance provides the methodology for calculating net land-related emissions — accounting for both sources and removals consistently. ESRS E1-7 requires disclosure of GHG removals separately from gross emissions — the Land Sector Guidance is the applicable methodology.
Nature-based carbon removals — accounting requirements
Companies increasingly invest in nature-based solutions (NbS) — reforestation, rewilding, regenerative agriculture, wetland restoration — both for their own land and through third-party offset purchases. The Land Sector Guidance provides accounting rules for both.
For own-land removals: calculate annual CO2 sequestration using IPCC inventory methods or site-level carbon monitoring. Disclose the measurement methodology and verification approach. ESRS E1-7 requires these to be separately disclosed as 'GHG removals' not deducted from gross emissions.
For purchased nature-based offsets (third-party NbS): the Land Sector Guidance applies quality criteria aligned with VCMI (Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity) — additionality, permanence, no leakage, third-party verification. Under ESRS E1-7, purchased nature-based offsets must be disclosed separately as 'mitigation contributions' — they cannot be deducted from gross Scope 1, 2, or 3 figures.
Permanence risk is the key challenge for nature-based removals: a forest planted today may be lost to wildfire, disease, or climate change before the CO2 is permanently sequestered. The Land Sector Guidance recommends buffer pool approaches — withholding a percentage of credits to cover permanence risk.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Land Sector Guidance mandatory for CSRD reporting?
Not explicitly mandated by ESRS E1-6, which references the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard. However, for companies with material land-related emissions or removals, the Land Sector Guidance is the only credible methodology available. Assurers will expect its application for companies with forestry, agriculture, or nature-based solution activities.
How do we account for deforestation in our supply chain?
Supply chain deforestation is a Scope 3 Category 1 emission — emissions from land use change associated with agricultural commodities (soy, palm oil, beef, cocoa, timber) in your purchased goods. The Land Sector Guidance provides methodology for calculating supply-chain land use change emissions using commodity-specific emission factors and country of origin data.
Can we claim forest carbon on land we lease rather than own?
Yes — the Land Sector Guidance uses an operational control boundary consistent with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. If you have operational control over land management decisions (including leased land under long-term agricultural or forestry leases), the associated emissions and removals are within your Scope 1 boundary.