GHG Protocol published its Land Sector and Removals (LSR) Guidance on June 30, 2026, giving companies practical support for implementing the LSR Standard. The current Standard is Version 1.1 and takes effect on January 1, 2027.
For companies to which it applies, that creates a clear sequence: update inventory processes in 2026, collect conforming data for 2027, and report that 2027 information in 2028.
The preparation work is more than adding a line for removals. It can change boundaries, source data, calculations, controls, and the way land-related results are presented.
Start with an applicability screen
The Standard applies to companies with significant land-sector activities in their operations or value chain. The GHG Protocol FAQ identifies examples such as companies that own or manage significant agricultural land; buy, process, or sell significant amounts of food, feed, fiber, bioenergy, or other agricultural products; or supply significant inputs to agricultural producers.
It also matters to companies that choose to include CO2 removals or captured CO2 stored in geologic reservoirs in their GHG inventory.
Screen the business by legal entity, product family, geography, activity, and Scope 3 category. Document how “significant” was assessed and retain the evidence behind exclusions. Revisit the screen when acquisitions, sourcing patterns, product mixes, or removal activities change.
The current version does not cover operations on forest lands, non-productive lands, or forest-product value chains. GHG Protocol is gathering input on forest carbon accounting separately, so companies making forest-related disclosures should identify the methodology used and avoid implying that those results conform to requirements not yet issued.
Map the data before choosing a calculation
Land-sector accounting needs information that may not sit with the sustainability team. Procurement may hold supplier and origin data. Operations may know yields, inputs, and land-management practices. Research teams may manage soil or biomass studies. Finance may control production and allocation data.
Build a source map that connects each applicable activity to:
- The land, facility, product, supplier, and reporting period.
- The activity data, factor, model, or measurement method used.
- Geographic and technological representativeness.
- Any allocation, estimate, uncertainty, or missing-data treatment.
- The owner, reviewer, evidence location, and calculation version.
This map will expose where a result depends on a generic factor even though a site-, farm-, or supplier-specific input may be needed.
Keep different carbon outcomes distinct
An inventory should not collapse land emissions, avoided emissions, reductions, removals, and stored carbon into one net figure without showing how each component was determined.
The LSR framework includes safeguards related to lifecycle emissions, traceability to where CO2 was removed and remains stored, ongoing storage monitoring, leakage, and double counting. A tonne removed is therefore not simply a negative emission factor. Its recognition depends on defined boundaries, evidence, and continued conditions.
Create separate calculation and reporting fields for gross emissions, removals, storage, reversals, and other required land metrics. Preserve the links between a reported result and its underlying land unit, supplier, project, or storage record.
Check the base-year effect
GHG Protocol says that when a company’s existing recalculation policy requires a base year or base period before 2027 to be recalculated, the LSR requirements should be applied to that recalculated period.
Do not rewrite historical inventories automatically. First determine whether the company’s approved significance threshold has been triggered, which periods are affected, and whether sufficient historical evidence exists. Record estimates and limitations instead of silently blending a new method into an old result.
A practical 2026 implementation plan
- Complete an applicability and significance assessment.
- Crosswalk current calculations to the LSR Standard’s reporting requirements.
- Assign owners for land, product, removals, and storage data.
- Pilot the calculation on one material product, geography, or activity.
- Test traceability, review controls, and evidence retention.
- Assess base-year and target implications.
- Use GHG Protocol’s sample reporting template and requirements checklist for a dry run.
The objective is not to produce a perfect 2027 inventory early. It is to know where the company is exposed, which information is missing, and who will close each gap before the reporting period begins.
This article reflects information available on July 16, 2026. Program-specific effective dates may differ, and the official Standard and Guidance should be used for implementation.
Sources
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