261
change or to private-sector activities. Company data, for example, on farmer training or contracts, is too patchy to aggregate into meaningful global statistics. Few
companies report on resilience indicators, let alone in both 2010 and 2015. Similarly,
FAOSTAT does not have relevant data that correspond to the WBCSD subcomponents of pillar two. For WBCSD members to demonstrate their collective
progress towards building resilience in farming communities and landscapes, more
companies will need to provide quantitative information on indicators that cover
both activities (e.g. training; on-farm agro-ecological practices) and outcomes (e.g.
women’s share of assets and decisions; reductions in exposure to climate risks).
For pillar three on mitigation, the agrifood sector is already falling behind targets
for agricultural and food system emissions. From 2010 to 2015, global agricultural
emissions increased 3.3% (FAOSTAT 2017). If the trend continues, the 2030 goal of
30% emissions reductions compared to 2010 will not be met; a 2.4% decrease per
year is required for that. While many WBCSD member companies have demonstrated some impressive improvements in emissions intensity per unit of revenue
(Vermeulen and Frid-Nielsen 2017), increasing levels of production mean that absolute emissions are rising across the global agricultural sector (see also Bennetzen
et al. 2015). Deforestation—a major source of global emissions associated with
agriculture that is not included in FAOSTAT data—will also contribute to some
companies’ emissions. Impacts of waste reduction on emissions are not yet reported.
22.5 Challenges and Potentials for Tracking Global Private
Sector Action on CSA
This early analysis reveals that gaps in data availability, transparency and standardisation create a major obstacle to demonstrating private-sector progress towards the
WBCSD Statement of Ambition on Climate-Smart Agriculture. The companies
involved are not yet measuring their own performance on the targets they have set
themselves, nor is this information available from global data sets.
A deeper set of issues concerns the links among shared measurement, shared
management and shared accountability. Food systems are complicated, with many
interconnections and feedback loops. A full discussion of private incentives to provide public goods is beyond the scope of this paper, but negatives and positives are
noted briefly. The logic of collaboration to meet collective environmental and social
objectives may not be compelling to individual companies, particularly if these add
to operational costs. On the other hand, many companies have embraced selfregulation and voluntary collaboration as a strategy to forestall increased regulation
and public activism (Haufler 2013).
These issues raise questions on possible success factors for the WBCSD members that are active in the Climate-Smart Agriculture initiative. Reflecting on progress to date, three key areas of potential might be:
22 Realising Ambitious Targets and Metrics for Private-Sector Action on Climate Risks
change or to private-sector activities. Company data, for example, on farmer training or contracts, is too patchy to aggregate into meaningful global statistics. Few
companies report on resilience indicators, let alone in both 2010 and 2015. Similarly,
FAOSTAT does not have relevant data that correspond to the WBCSD subcomponents of pillar two. For WBCSD members to demonstrate their collective
progress towards building resilience in farming communities and landscapes, more
companies will need to provide quantitative information on indicators that cover
both activities (e.g. training; on-farm agro-ecological practices) and outcomes (e.g.
women’s share of assets and decisions; reductions in exposure to climate risks).
For pillar three on mitigation, the agrifood sector is already falling behind targets
for agricultural and food system emissions. From 2010 to 2015, global agricultural
emissions increased 3.3% (FAOSTAT 2017). If the trend continues, the 2030 goal of
30% emissions reductions compared to 2010 will not be met; a 2.4% decrease per
year is required for that. While many WBCSD member companies have demonstrated some impressive improvements in emissions intensity per unit of revenue
(Vermeulen and Frid-Nielsen 2017), increasing levels of production mean that absolute emissions are rising across the global agricultural sector (see also Bennetzen
et al. 2015). Deforestation—a major source of global emissions associated with
agriculture that is not included in FAOSTAT data—will also contribute to some
companies’ emissions. Impacts of waste reduction on emissions are not yet reported.
22.5 Challenges and Potentials for Tracking Global Private
Sector Action on CSA
This early analysis reveals that gaps in data availability, transparency and standardisation create a major obstacle to demonstrating private-sector progress towards the
WBCSD Statement of Ambition on Climate-Smart Agriculture. The companies
involved are not yet measuring their own performance on the targets they have set
themselves, nor is this information available from global data sets.
A deeper set of issues concerns the links among shared measurement, shared
management and shared accountability. Food systems are complicated, with many
interconnections and feedback loops. A full discussion of private incentives to provide public goods is beyond the scope of this paper, but negatives and positives are
noted briefly. The logic of collaboration to meet collective environmental and social
objectives may not be compelling to individual companies, particularly if these add
to operational costs. On the other hand, many companies have embraced selfregulation and voluntary collaboration as a strategy to forestall increased regulation
and public activism (Haufler 2013).
These issues raise questions on possible success factors for the WBCSD members that are active in the Climate-Smart Agriculture initiative. Reflecting on progress to date, three key areas of potential might be:
22 Realising Ambitious Targets and Metrics for Private-Sector Action on Climate Risks