Scope 3 Reporting for landholders: today’s priorities and tomorrow’s challenges

Why Scope 3 Reporting matters

Sustainability reporting is changing rapidly. Large companies are no longer judged only on their direct emissions (Scope 1) or energy use (Scope 2). Increasingly, they must also disclose their Scope 3 emissions — the indirect impacts across their supply chains.

For agriculture, this makes landholders central to the story. Emissions from farming practices, soil carbon, vegetation management, and broader ecosystem impacts all feed into the Scope 3 reports of buyers, financiers, and regulators. In short: farm performance is becoming supply chain currency.

The immediate focus: carbon

At present, Scope 3 reporting is largely focused on the net carbon for farmed commodities:

• Emissions from farming activities
  • Methane from stock
  • Fertiliser user
  • Fuel use
  • Electricity use
  • Imported feed
• Reductions due to practice
  • Soil organic carbon levels
  • Vegetation cover and sequestration potential of new plantings
  • Adoption of emissions reduction practices

Food processors, retailers, and banks need this information to meet their own net-zero commitments. For landholders, the ability to provide robust carbon data is quickly becoming a condition for market access.

What’s coming next: beyond carbon

As reporting frameworks like TNFD, GBF, SDG, AASF, and corporate ESG disclosures mature, Scope 3 reporting will likely become broader and more complex.

Whilst carbon is the immediate focus, Scope 3 reporting is broadening. Emerging expectations include:

• Water stewardship: nutrient runoff, water use efficiency, and catchment impacts.
• Biodiversity: habitat condition, species richness, and conservation outcomes.
• Sustainable practices: landholder adoption of regenerative methods.
• Social and cultural values: community wellbeing and Indigenous participation.

The landholder challenge

For landholders, this creates both risks and opportunities:

• Risk: Being left behind if reporting demands outpace local capacity.
• Opportunity: Demonstrating good land management through credible data can unlock market premiums, finance, and recognition.

The difficulty lies in collecting data that is trusted, standardised, and adaptable — so it can serve today’s carbon requirements and tomorrow’s broader Scope 3 measures.

Building resilience through data

Preparation is key. Landholders who start building a baseline of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures now will be best placed to:

• Meet current Scope 3 carbon reporting demands without scrambling.
• Adapt smoothly as new measures (water, biodiversity, social outcomes) are added.
• Reduce transaction costs by collecting once and reporting many times.
• Strengthen relationships with supply chain partners who need reliable evidence.
• Be ahead of the game before this reporting transitions from being a point of difference for your product to part of the cost of entry that you have to pay to play.

Looking ahead

Scope 3 is not a passing trend — it represents a structural shift in how sustainability is measured and valued in agriculture. Carbon is just the beginning — future requirements will likely extend across the full spectrum of natural capital.

By understanding these dynamics and preparing early, landholders can turn Scope 3 reporting from a compliance burden into a strategic advantage.

A tool for forward-thinking landholders

To support this transition, we’re developing the Natural Capital Account — a platform designed specifically for landholders who want to stay ahead. It will:

• provide a structured way to measure and present Scope 3 carbon data today
• capture broader natural capital metrics as reporting requirements expand.

By investing early in clear, credible accounts of land stewardship, forward-thinking landholders can meet current expectations and position themselves as leaders as Scope 3 reporting expands.