Land Sector and Removals Standard: What the New Global Carbon Standard Means for the Agricultural Sector

This standard may seem far removed from everyday life on the farm, but it directly affects farmers because it sets out how large food companies must work with their agricultural suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

In January 2026, the GHG Protocol (the reference body on greenhouse gas accounting) published a new standard: the Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS).

This standard marks an important milestone for all companies whose operations rely heavily on agriculture and natural resources, from farms to distributors and manufacturers. It will take effect on January 1, 2027, and aims to improve how land-related carbon emissions and removals (sequestration) are accounted for in companies’ greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories.

And even though its name may seem far from everyday farm life, its repercussions will directly affect Quebec producers. Indeed, while this standard is primarily aimed at processors and large agri-food companies, it also defines how they must engage and collaborate with their agricultural suppliers.

What is the LSRS?

Until now, when a large agri-food company (a dairy, processing plant, a distributor, etc.) wanted to report its carbon footprint, its emissions related to agriculture were often miscalculated or merely estimated using generic data. Actual on-the-ground practices, farm by farm, were not truly or accurately considered.

But the LSRS changes that. It is the first global standard specifically dedicated to emissions and removals related to land use and agriculture. It encourages companies dependent on agricultural products to better account for the emissions associated with those products and to recognize, under certain conditions, the GHG reductions and CO₂ removals generated by the adoption of good agricultural practices.

Specifically, two major categories of activities are accounted for by the standard:

Emissions reductions: anything that can be measured and reported as a reduction in GHG emissions related to agricultural activities (management of the land, of farm inputs, of livestock, etc.).
Carbon sequestration: anything that contributes to storing CO₂ in soils and biomass over the long term.

For the first time, a recognized international standard states that what happens on agricultural land has a measurable and reportable value in the carbon footprints of large companies.

Why will large companies need to work with their agricultural suppliers?

The LSRS will require agri-food companies to do two things they did not do before:

Report their GHG emissions and CO₂ removals separately. They cannot mix the two, nor offset their emissions with sequestration to present a flattering “net” figure. Everything must be transparent.
Use real, traceable data linked to specific lands. Generic averages are no longer sufficient. Companies that want to report credible reductions or removals in their balance sheets will need high-quality field data. And that’s where farms come into play.

Agri-food companies will need to strengthen their collaboration with suppliers to obtain more precise data on their agricultural practices and land use. In this context, their climate strategies could lead them to provide greater support for initiatives already underway among their suppliers or to promote new agricultural projects (regenerative agriculture, soil management, etc.), since it is precisely these types of projects that generate the data they need.

What this means in practice for farms

For farm owners, the LSRS does not directly create new regulatory obligations. But it does create a new reality: their agricultural practices now have tangible, recognized value within a credible international framework.

To this end, the standard sets specific requirements for how agricultural data must be collected and documented. Six of these directly concern farms:

Land-use change. The standard requires to assess the impacts over a 20-year period of any land-use change on GHG emissions and CO₂ sequestration (e.g., conversion of forest or grassland to cropland).
Land mapping. The standard requires that each agricultural parcel be precisely identified: area, land use type, and geographic location. It must be possible to show which practices are applied, where, and how.
Continuous monitoring of practices and carbon stocks. For CO₂ removals to be recognized in a GHG inventory, they must be monitored continuously over time and not only measured once. This involves regular monitoring of soil carbon stocks, which can rely on soil analyses, simulations, or a combination of both.
Permanence. The LSRS emphasizes that if carbon is sequestered, there must be a commitment not to release it. This is known as monitoring for reversals, i.e., the risk that sequestered carbon will be released back into the atmosphere. If stored carbon is released (e.g., due to deep plowing after several years of no-till farming), this must be reported as an emission.
Data quality and traceability. The LSRS prioritizes primary data (actual field measurements) over generic estimates. Soil analyses, practice records, and precise mapping: every piece of data collected from farms reinforces the credibility and value of the practices implemented.
Carbon leakage.This is a new requirement. Leakage occurs when a farm implements a best practice to reduce its GHG emissions, but this leads to an increase in emissions elsewhere. For example, a farm that stops producing its own forage to purchases it from abroad reduces its emissions but shifts them elsewhere, which does not contribute to the fight against climate change. This is why the standard requires assessing the risk of leakage and its impacts, and mandates that they be reported where applicable. In practice, for most practices (soil improvement, farm inputs management, livestock management), this risk is low, but it remains important to consider it.

In summary, all these requirements may seem technical, but they reflect a simple reality: the industry needs accurate and documented data from farms in order to credibly incorporate their contributions into its GHG inventories.

What Logiag is doing in this context

At Logiag, we have been working for four years to develop and promote GHG reduction programs on Quebec farms. The LSRS reinforces and legitimizes what we are building with them and the processors.

We document what farms have implemented (existing practices, land management, agricultural history, etc.). Every piece of data collected can be used to demonstrate the farm’s contribution to the climate transition.
We manage the technical and methodological complexity. Requirements for quantification, third-party verification, or certification, that’s our role. Farmers don’t have to become experts in carbon standards.
We anticipate future developments. The supplementary guide to the LSRS will be published by June 2026. Our role is to monitor these developments and adapt our programs to ensure everything is compliant and can be effectively utilized.
We create tangible value for farms. Participating in our programs means improving soil health over the long term, building resilience against climate hazards, and benefiting from local agronomic support.

In summary: what you need to know

The LSRS is good news for farmers who do things right. For years, their environmental efforts have been invisible in the carbon footprint assessments of companies. This standard will help highlight their value.

What this means for farms, in practice:

Field data has value: the more precise and well-documented it is, the better it can be leveraged.
Sustainable practices generate CO₂ reductions and removals that are now measured and reported within an international framework.
Agri-food companies will increasingly need to collaborate with their suppliers to improve the quality and accuracy of their GHG inventories.
Logiag is here to bridge the gap between agricultural practices and these opportunities.