Beyond Reporting: The FLAG Playbook for Credible Carbon Removals

created-date: 2023-10-26T10:00:00.000Z

summary: Many companies with agricultural supply chains struggle to move beyond reporting FLAG emissions. This article provides a practical playbook for engaging suppliers on credible carbon removals and embedding decarbonisation into procurement.

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The Challenge: Moving from Reporting to Real FLAG Removals

For any organisation with significant agricultural or forestry supply chains, setting a Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) target is now standard practice. The challenge isn't the target itself, but what comes next. Teams are getting bogged down in reporting complex emissions, but making little headway on the tangible, high-quality removals needed to meet those goals.

The core problem is that engaging suppliers on land use change and carbon sequestration is far more complex than asking for a utility bill. You’re asking for data that is often difficult to measure, inconsistent, and open to interpretation. The result? A mountain of messy data that doesn’t translate into a clear reduction plan, leaving procurement and sustainability teams unable to act with confidence.

Why So Many Teams Get Stuck

The paralysis comes from a reasonable fear of getting it wrong. No one wants to claim a carbon removal that isn’t real, permanent, and verified. This leads to a cycle of endless data collection in pursuit of perfect information, which rarely exists. Teams chase thousands of suppliers with generic surveys, hoping for a clean spreadsheet to emerge.

This approach fails because it mistakes data collection for action. While good data is essential, its purpose is to enable better decisions, not just to populate a report. When the focus is solely on reporting, we lose sight of the commercial levers that drive change. Suppliers, in turn, face a barrage of inconsistent requests and lack clear incentives to invest in better practices. They see it as a compliance exercise, not a collaborative effort to decarbonise.

The goal isn't just to report FLAG emissions. It's to give your procurement team a clear signal to buy from suppliers who are actively reducing them and investing in credible removals.

What Good Engagement Looks Like

A successful programme shifts the focus from universal data collection to prioritised engagement. It accepts that data will be imperfect and instead concentrates effort where the impact is greatest. It’s about turning a complex climate science problem into a straightforward commercial conversation.

Consider a food manufacturer sourcing cocoa from West Africa. Instead of sending a blanket survey to thousands of smallholders, they identify the top 50 cooperatives that represent 80% of their volume. They move beyond asking for a single carbon number and instead engage on specific, verifiable practices: Have you implemented agroforestry? Can you provide evidence of land tenure, preventing future deforestation? Can you show how you are helping your farmers improve soil organic carbon?

This approach provides the supplier with a clear set of actions and provides the buyer with decision-useful information. The conversation is no longer about filling in a form; it’s about building a more resilient and sustainable supply chain together. The best programmes use platforms to manage this engagement, track commitments, and translate a supplier's progress into a simple score that procurement can use before a purchase order is ever raised.

A Practical Playbook for Action

Getting started doesn't require a complete overhaul. It requires focus. Here is a simple, four-step approach to build momentum.

First, segment your supply chain. Use your spend data and existing emissions hotspots to identify the critical few suppliers who drive the majority of your FLAG impact. Forget the long tail for now. Your top 20 or 50 suppliers are where you can make a tangible difference.

Second, define a clear, tiered ‘ask’. For your highest-impact suppliers, the conversation should be strategic. What is their decarbonisation plan? What support do they need? For the next tier, the ask can be more specific: we need you to commit to a no-deforestation policy by next year. Be explicit about what good looks like and what evidence is required.

Third, integrate FLAG performance into procurement. This is the most critical step. Your engagement efforts will only scale if they are tied to commercial reality. Make supplier climate performance a weighted component in your sourcing decisions. Reward the leaders with more business; support the learners with expertise; and be prepared to exit relationships with those who refuse to engage.

Finally, provide support, not just scrutiny. Many suppliers, particularly smaller operations, lack the resources and expertise to implement changes. Connect them with technical partners, facilitate knowledge sharing between suppliers, or explore co-investment opportunities for key transition projects.

Your Best First Step

The single most effective step you can take this quarter is to stop the mass surveys. Instead, identify your top 20 highest-impact FLAG suppliers and schedule a dedicated meeting with each one. Go into that conversation with a clear objective: to understand their current roadmap, the challenges they face, and how you can work together. This simple act of prioritisation shifts the dynamic from a transaction to a partnership-and it’s the foundation of any credible path to net zero.

length: 5 min read

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