The issues with measuring and reporting emissions - An analysis of the agriculture sectors efforts to improve sustainability reporting

Abstract

Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are a major contributor to climate change globally. The way to report and calculate the emissions can require vast amounts of resources and can be a complicated process for both farmers and top-level management. The issues occur as the current sustainability reporting system requires auditors to meander through a large amount of standards and information that a growing number of stakeholders require firms to publicly disclose. In this qualitative study, sustainability reporting is examined from an agricultural perspective and the main issues with measuring and collecting emissions data in the agricultural sector is explained. The study is based on interviews with stakeholders involved in Swedish agriculture from the private and public sector in order to create a more holistic perspective. The thesis further explains which strategic possibilities Swedish agricultural corporations can take advantage of when it comes to calculating emissions and how it results in sustainable development. The findings of the study indicate that the roles of responsibility differ between farm-level actors and agricultural cooperatives and companies within the food industry. The larger actors need to involve the smaller actors in the reporting and provide them with simple and automated emission calculating tools. If the agricultural actors work together, sharing their knowledge and resources with each other, sustainability reporting and the calculation of GHG emissions can become more accurate. Furthermore, sustainability reports need to present more precise data, become more legitimate and harmonize to make them comparable. Stricter regulations and third-party auditing could help improve the legitimacy. The use of science-based targets, new technologies and innovation is also important in order to further reduce emissions.