Sustainability vs. Agency

What happens when you do not control more than 95% of the carbon you own?

Consumer goods have a heavy carbon footprint, especially in parts of the supply chain which are far beyond retailers' direct control. In Europe, retailers and wholesalers account for approximately 40% of total GHG emissions, of which less than 5% is Scope 1 and 2. The remaining 95% sits upstream, in farming, manufacturing, logistics, and packaging.

Carbon offsets offered early traction but are no longer seen as a primary mechanism to neutralize those emissions. Questions around offset quality, double-counting, and traceability have slowed down their uptake. Today, the SBTi excludes offsets from near-term climate target achievement. Offsets cannot be used to reduce reported Scope 3 emissions under the GHG Protocol.

In response, companies are turning to carbon insets. Carbon insets are direct interventions within your own supply chain. For the agri-food supply chain, these can include regenerative agriculture, low-carbon inputs, and supplier decarbonization

• Nestlé stated: "Our net zero roadmap does not rely on offsets (…). We focus on GHG emissions reductions and removals within our value chain."

• Danone committed to implement regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of ingredients sourced in France by the end of this year

• PepsiCo is investing in green fertilizer through a partnership with Yara International, reflecting the momentum building behind abatement for upstream supply chain emissions

The challenge? The market infrastructure is not ramping up. Most companies lack the systems to make carbon insets real. Procurement was not designed to measure, verify or manage upstream climate impact. Claims are hard to attribute, trace and prove, data is patchy, and Tier 2+ suppliers remain invisible in most supply chains.

At Versus Acta, we are market makers for carbon insets, enabling companies to achieve effective, claimable and affordable Scope 3 emissions reductions.

Get in touch if you want to learn more about how we are building the market infrastructure to scale carbon (& nature!) insets.