On 24 March 2026, the Jurisdictional Action Network hosted a webinar exploring how landscape and jurisdictional approaches can help companies reduce scope 3 emissions and navigate evolving guidance from the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
The session was moderated by Matthew Spencer, Climate and Nature Director at IDH, and featured Nikol Ostianova (Treevaluation / International Platform for Insetting), Paulien Denis (Proforest), and Eva Pedersen (IDH).
The case for landscape-level coordination
Spencer opened by outlining that landscape approaches allow coordination across tens of thousands of upstream farmers, can deliver decarbonisation more cost-efficiently than farm-by-farm interventions, and reduce spillover effects by addressing emissions at a sectoral level.
Ostianova reinforced this from her experience in Colombian coffee and West African cocoa. She highlighted that many decarbonisation activities — such as large-scale composting or organic fertiliser supply chains — require new business models that no single company is likely to fund alone.
Denis shared insights from the Western Mato Grosso Landscape Initiative in Brazil, where soy production accounts for up to 5% of the country’s output. A supply-and-demand analysis of carbon benefits across activities such as regenerative agriculture, conservation, and restoration showed that no single financing instrument can cover all landscape-level needs. A combination of payments for ecosystem services (PES), carbon credits, insetting, and local mechanisms must be explored together.
Pedersen presented IDH’s work designing a PES hub in the Grand Mbam landscape in Cameroon, in partnership with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). The programme includes on-farm schemes centred on agroforestry and sustainable intensification, alongside off-farm schemes focused on restoration and forest protection. Beyond carbon, it aims to improve farmer livelihoods and develop a pipeline of investable local enterprises.
Accounting challenges and the on-farm/off-farm question
A central theme was the difficulty of accounting for off-farm carbon benefits within existing corporate reporting frameworks. Denis noted that the GHG Protocol’s Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS) already allows two approaches to capture reduced land-use change emissions at landscape level: statistical emission factors and jurisdictional direct land-use change factors. However, requirements for adjacent and non-productive lands remain unclear, creating uncertainty for companies.
The panellists agreed that piloting credible methodologies and engaging standard-setting bodies with practical evidence is essential to unlocking these frameworks for landscape action.
Climate resilience beyond carbon
All three speakers emphasised that decarbonisation should not be pursued in isolation. Denis noted that when engaging companies, the language of mitigation works best, but with farmers, resilience and adaptation drive action. She cautioned that a resilient supply chain and a resilient production landscape are not the same; the latter requires long-term commitment.
Ostianova added that resilience may ultimately mean some regions shift away from certain crops, making space for economic activities better suited to local conditions.
Insetting, offsetting, and credibility
Denis acknowledged the reputational damage caused by recent carbon credit controversies but saw Brazil’s emerging regulated market as an opportunity to develop insetting well from the outset. Ostianova argued that insetting’s inherent link to supply chain viability gives it a stronger foundation than offsetting, where diverging motivations have historically undermined credibility.
Key takeaways
Spencer closed by summarising the session’s conclusions: significant on-farm decarbonisation opportunities exist and can be captured now; off-farm benefits remain harder to account for but are not impossible; and the co-benefits of landscape approaches — particularly around resilience, livelihoods, and supply security — should be central to the business case for company engagement.
Shared resources
- A platform of resources to help private sector action in jurisdictional initiatives – JA Hub
- The soy hidden in your chicken | Per aspera AdAstra
- Advancing insetting for climate, nature and people | Conservation International
- Latin America Coffee Carbon Footprint Baseline Study Report | Sustainable Coffee Challenge posted on the topic | LinkedIn
- Tropical forests generate rainfall worth billions
- PCI Western Mato Grosso – Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Leveraging Carbon Instruments for Financial Sustainability in a Soy Landscape Initiative