Global standards for emissions accounting provide frameworks for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These standards help businesses, governments, and other entities track their emissions and work towards reduction goals.

• Scope 1: on-farm from agricultural activities
• Scope 2: on-farm from purchased electricity
• Scope 3: beyond the farm-gate boundary, including both upstream and downstream in the supply chain.

The operational boundary for farming enterprises typically includes areas and operations under business control and associated with owned land, leased land, and energy use (Scopes 1 and 2).

Retailers aiming to account for their supply-chain emissions may also seek information relating to the broader supply chain (Scope 3), which may be termed ‘cradle to factory-gate’ (upstream and downstream activities), or ‘cradle to farm-gate’ (activities only). 

The above diagram illustrates the boundaries associated with GHG baseline reporting for scope 1, 2, and 3. The operational boundary may be defined at the farming enterprise scale, or extend to the upstream (cradle to farm-gate, shown in dotted lines) or also capture downstream (known as cradle to factory-gate).