Five free-to-access mapped datasets to help companies understand the land, carbon, and biodiversity impacts of their agricultural supply chains have been launched by data agency Vizzuality.
The information uses a “unique spatial accounting approach” to create results, even if companies do not know the exact locations of their suppliers, the Madrid-based company said.
Its website Landgriffon “helps companies towards the goal of traceability, regardless of where they are starting”, it said in a press release.
“At this stage, full traceability can be unrealistic for some companies who do not know the location of every supplier in their supply chain.”
Companies need to input their agricultural materials, and the most precise available location estimate of their source, for the website to produce “report-ready insights”, it said.
The datasets cover:
- Deforestation
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Loss of natural ecosystems
- Biodiversity loss from agricultural production, according to the Forest Landscape Integrity Index
- Biodiversity loss from agricultural production, according to the Biodiversity Intactness Index
The information is based on data from sources including Global Forest Watch, the World Resources Institute, Impact Observatory, ESRI and Conservation International, among others.
Francis Gassert, strategy and impact lead at Vizzuality, said: “If we want to solve the climate and nature crisis, everyone needs to be able to access knowledge on the impact of business on nature. We want to make it as easy as possible for companies to act today.”
The datasets can help companies comply with the requirements of the Science-Based Target Network (SBTN), the Taskforce on Nature-Related Disclosures (TNFD), and the EU’s deforestation regulation, Vizzuality said.
Landgriffon should help companies to understand:
- Which materials, business units, regions or suppliers are the largest sources of nature-related risks
- Opportunities to reduce impacts
- How to measure progress against nature targets
For example, it can show hectares of deforestation per hectare of land use, on a 50km radius, anywhere in the world.
Users can run scenarios to see the theoretical results on nature of working with farmers to reduce their environmental impacts, changing product recipes, or switching producers.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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