Achieve Your Ambitious Emissions Reduction Goals Through Decarbonized Agricultural Value Chains

Agricultural value chain refers to the full range of activities and players involved in producing, processing, and delivering agricultural products — including food, feed, and fibre — to consumers. It encompasses all steps from input supply, farming, harvesting, and processing to marketing and retail, where goods are sold.  

A decarbonized agricultural value chain is one in which all players are working to reduce/remove greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  at every stage of the agricultural process—from input production and on-farm practices to processing, distribution, and retail. 

This transformation is achieved at farm level through the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, carbon sequestration, the use of low-emission technologies and renewable energy. Robust measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks ensure transparency and accountability. 

The ultimate goal is to build a more climate-resilient, sustainable, and competitive agricultural system—one that contributes to global climate goals while supporting productivity, farmer and local livelihoods, and food security. 

The voluntary carbon market allows companies who wish to demonstrate their commitment to reaching Net Zero – for instance by having set a Science-Based Target – to either use any carbon savings deriving from efficiencies enabled within their value chain as an inset for Scope 3 reporting purposes or to claim an offset certificate (i.e., a carbon credit) to account for residual GHG emissions. 

Companies looking to account for and reduce emissions within their value chain (i.e., their own Scope 3 emissions) that are attributable to agricultural activities can work with BASF to measure and monitor their existing carbon footprint. They then can reduce the carbon footprint of their supply shed. As part of SustainCERT’s Value Change Initiative (VCI), these reductions can be measured, monitored, and verified, leading to the issuance of a Verified Impact Unit (VIU). Companies following SBTi can use VIUs as a widely accepted accounting tool to demonstrate their path towards Net Zero.  

Companies on the path to Net Zero may also find themselves needing to account for residual GHG emissions (be they of Scope 1, 2, or 3). To this end, they can rely on BASF's Global Carbon Farming Program to purchase rigorously developed and internationally recognized offset carbon credits. In particular, BASF works with the Verra registry for all offset carbon credits.

Farmers: play a crucial role in the agricultural carbon marketplace by implementing sustainable agricultural practices and participating in the program to reduce emissions and sequester carbon into the soil – - ultimately generating verified climate impacts. 

BASF: depending on the specific project and geographic region, BASF plays the following roles:  

• solutions provider: BASF Agricultural Solutions provides farmers with its portfolio of seeds, , crop protection products, nitrogen use efficiency products, and digital farming solutions to drive carbon emissions reductions and removals.  

• project developer: BASF acts as project developer/project proponent. In this role, BASF defines and documents the proposed project in association with the certification body, identifies buyers and investors, onboards farmers. We ensure that enrolled growers receive the agronomic guidance needed to implement climate-smart agricultural practices in line with internationally recognized standards. Additionally, BASF coordinates with verifiers, standard makers, and registries to convert the practices adopted into verified carbon savings. 

Rules & standards makers: these include regulatory agencies and voluntary standards organizations. They ensure the integrity of the carbon marketplace and develop standards and protocols for carbon farming and credit verification. They establish the requirements for measuring and verifying carbon sequestration and emission reductions and the eligibility criteria for participating in carbon credit markets.  

Food Value Chain Players: partners within the value chains are collaborating to support and scale sustainable agricultural practices, thereby enhancing overall carbon saving efforts across the whole value chain. 

Verifiers/certification bodies: third-party organizations that provide assurance that carbon savings have been accurately measured, validated and verified under the chosen standards. They verify and quantify carbon sequestration and emissions reductions. They conduct on-site inspections and laboratory analyses to measure and verify the carbon stored in the soil or the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by implementing carbon farming practices.  

Registries: platforms that manage the creation, transfer, and retirement of carbon saving and credits and maintain records of all carbon transactions  held by different entities. 

Carbon credit buyers: purchase internationally recognized and robust carbon credits from BASF's Global Carbon Farming Program to offset their carbon emissions to meet their sustainability targets and contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy.  

The BASF Global Carbon Farming Program has initiated several projects targeting different crops & and regions – further projects are being planned.  

Our active projects: 

• CO₂ e optimized barley in collaboration with Boortmalt in Ireland 

• Insetting project with Simpsons Malt in the UK  

• Climate Partner Agriculture “KlimaPartner Landwirtschaft” collaboration with RWZ Raiffeisen in Germany  

• Biofuel Carbon Intensity Project in US  

• NEWGREEN Rice Project in Japan 

• Carbon offsetting pilot in collaboration with Cérèsia in France