At this year’s NYC Climate Week, WCF joined forces with Quantis, Mars, and Sucden to share WCF’s new GHG Accounting Methodology for Cocoa that provides the cocoa industry with a unique, sector-wide approach not just to measuring and reporting GHG’s but to help companies translate climate ambition into measurable progress on the ground.
Developed by WCF in partnership with Quantis and sustainability experts from 20 member companies, the methodology was developed through an intensive collaborative process, leading to an approach that focuses on accuracy, is practical, science-based and tailored to the realities of the cocoa supply chain.
The new standard is designed to help companies in the cocoa sector meet their Scope 3 reporting obligations. Covering topics like land use change, land management, carbon removals and rebaselining, it empowers cocoa companies to consistently report to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and supports reporting in accordance with the GHG Protocol (GHGP) Land Sector and Removals Guidance draft (with the final expected to be released later this year), as well as future mandatory legislation.
WCF’s presence at NYC Climate Week signals that the cocoa sector is not only part of climate conversation, it is helping to shape it. As global expectations for emissions reporting and decarbonization grow, sector-aligned methods like this support compliance, but they also equip companies to contribute meaningfully to shared climate goals and the collective delivery of climate impact.
“By aligning the cocoa sector around a best practice method, we are able to streamline emissions accounting. This will lead to a more impactful decarbonization effort across the cocoa sector, one that is data-driven. And hopefully inspire a similar effort in other sectors.”
Quantis led attendees through key topics in the methodology, presenting the driving principles of the manual: A collaborative process, going beyond minimum requirements, transparency and practicality. Quantis also highlighted the importance of traceability, explained the benefits of direct land use change accounting versus statistical land use change accounting, discussed identification of plot-level emission factors for land management, and unpacked the intricacies of carbon removals accounting. With more than seven months of real-world application, Mars and Sucden shared first-hand insights into the manual’s impact.
The event was attended by a diverse audience of climate professionals, cocoa stakeholders, and corporate leaders who engaged with Quantis, WCF, Sucden and Mars during the session. While this GHG accounting method has been developed for the cocoa sector, it was obvious that the methodology and the lessons in developing it are very relevant to other sectors; collaboration across sectors is essential to making progress on a global issue that knows no boundaries. The conversations reflected a growing demand for credible, coordinated approaches to GHG measurement and reporting, not just in cocoa but across many other sectors.
As climate regulations evolve and expectations rise, cocoa companies are engaging more actively not only to collaboratively develop high-quality methods for monitoring and reporting but also in shaping practical solutions. The demand for sector-specific, science-based methods and tools continues to grow not only for GHG accounting but also for topics like deforestation risk and biodiversity monitoring. WCF remains committed to working with its members to develop grounded, actionable approaches that support meaningful progress.
