[news_posted_on] April, 30 2026

By WWF-Brazil, 

WWF-Brazil and WWF-UK, in partnership with 3Keel and the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF), present this report as the outcome of a broad, collaborative process involving businesses, NGOs, MRV providers, traders, feed manufacturers, retailers, and financial institutions active in the Cerrado soy supply chain. 

The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the world's most important, and most threatened ecosystems. It produces nearly half of Brazil's soy while playing a critical role in climate regulation, water systems, and biodiversity. Yet agricultural expansion has driven significant loss of native vegetation, making the transition to deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) soy production more urgent than ever. At the same time, for many food and beverage companies, scope 3 emissions represent more than 90% of their total carbon footprint and land use change in sourcing regions like the Cerrado is the single largest driver. 

This report examines how companies sourcing soy from the Cerrado can credibly link investments in sustainable production to their scope 3 GHG inventories. It focuses on two interconnected challenges: establishing sufficient physical traceability across complex, multi-actor supply chains, and designing robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems that meet the requirements of international accounting standards, in particular the GHG Protocol's Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS) and the SBTi FLAG Guidance. 

A central finding of the report is that land use change emissions, which represent the largest share of Brazilian soy's carbon intensity, are also the only source of emissions that can be fully measured using remote sensing approaches in compliance with international GHG standards, significantly reducing costs and easing the burden on producers. Focusing on monitoring and reducing land use change emissions therefore represents the most immediate and impactful opportunity to reduce the carbon intensity of Brazilian soy. 

To ground these findings in practice, the report uses the Responsible Commodities Facility (RCF) as a case study. The RCF is a blended finance fund that provides low-interest credit to farmers committing to DCF soy production, backed by major UK retailers and international banks. In 2026, the RCF is piloting a digital chain-of-custody model designed to maintain physical traceability from participating farms through to downstream funders, whose purpose is to enable companies to link their investments directly to measurable GHG outcomes in their scope 3 inventories. 

The report concludes that while current standards present real challenges, particularly indirect, commoditized supply chains, there are practical steps companies can take today. Prioritizing land use change monitoring, collaborating across the supply chain to pilot traceability approaches, and investing in blended finance structures are all actions that can unlock private investment in sustainable agriculture while advancing credible GHG accounting. 

By bridging corporate climate commitments with on-the-ground action in the Cerrado, this report contributes to a growing effort to transform one of the world's most critical commodity landscapes.