Sustell, SustainCERT partner on verified emissions data

By Grace Kim

dsm-firmenich Animal Nutrition & Health’s Sustell platform will combine farm-level animal-protein footprinting with independent verification and carbon-registry services in a partnership with SustainCERT announced Nov. 5, 2026.

SustainCERT, an independent validation and verification body, will provide those services through its Carbon Management Platform (CMP). The agreement targets animal protein producers, processors, food companies and retailers seeking emissions data they can trace across complex agricultural supply chains.

What changes for food and agriculture companies?

Sustell calculates product-level environmental footprints by using farm-specific data collected directly from producers instead of relying only on industry averages and generic datasets. Its life-cycle assessment covers crop production, feed manufacturing, animal farming and processing.

According to the announcement, that primary-data method can support progress toward Scope 3 targets, including targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and compliance with the latest GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS). It gives processors and retailers a way to bring farm records into corporate emissions reporting.

The companies say a significant proportion of an animal protein product’s footprint originates on the farm, placing producer data at the center of the partnership.

Sustell describes itself as the only ISO-certified animal protein footprinting platform. The announcement does not identify the ISO standard, certification scope, certifying body, baseline year or reporting window, so buyers should check those details before treating the claim as a common procurement standard.

It also gives no farm count, acreage, crop yield, feed-use rate, emissions result or survey sample. Nor does it explain whether SBTi or LSRS reporting changes farm practices, input requirements, procurement premiums, commodity basis or margins. No individual grower, cooperative, farm, region or government agency is named.

For growers, the immediate takeaway is evidence and reporting, not a guaranteed price or margin gain.

How does data move from farm to registry?

The workflow starts with data collected directly from producers. Sustell calculates product-level footprints, then SustainCERT can verify the underlying data before it is transferred to the CMP. The centralized system can hold both verified and unverified information.

Organizations can register, attribute and claim Scope 3 data through the platform and transfer verified emissions data between value-chain partners. A unitization system is intended to reduce double counting and over-claiming, while centralized records are meant to improve transparency, consistency, auditability and reporting accuracy.

That architecture does not mean every entry carries independent verification. Users must distinguish verified from unverified data and preserve evidence showing what SustainCERT checked.

The announcement provides no technical validation results, error rate, verification threshold, fee schedule or external audit of the system. It also does not explain how data from different farms, feed mills and processors will be reconciled.

The takeaway is simple: a registry entry is not the same thing as a verified claim.

What are the companies promising?

Food and agriculture companies face increasing pressure to show credible progress on climate commitments, according to SustainCERT business development vice president Thomas Blackburn.

Thomas Blackburn, vice president of business development at SustainCERT, said:

“Organizations across the food and agriculture value chain are under increasing pressure to demonstrate credible progress on their climate commitments. Yet the quality, consistency and verifiability of underlying emissions data remains a significant challenge, particularly when it comes to Scope 3 emissions.”

“By combining Sustell’s robust farm-level footprinting capabilities with SustainCERT’s verification expertise and Carbon Management Platform, we are helping companies build greater confidence in sustainability claims, improve transparency across supply chains and translate emissions data into credible climate action.”

Dr. David Nickell, vice president of sustainability and business solutions and head of Sustell, said:

“This partnership helps close a critical gap between measurement and action. By combining trusted footprint measurement, independent verification and carbon registry capabilities, we are enabling organizations to confidently share emissions data across the value chain and accelerate progress toward their sustainability goals.”

The takeaway is simple: the two firms promise a bridge from farm measurement to auditable corporate claims.

What should buyers and growers watch?

Rollout details will show whether the partnership produces a material change in reporting quality. The announcement sets no deployment schedule, target number of farms, coverage area or public performance target.

For producers, the economic test is whether collecting farm-specific data changes procurement, premiums, input costs or risk decisions. The announcement reports no such outcomes, and its environmental focus does not quantify commodity basis or farm margins.

If producers adopt direct data collection, processors use verified records and value-chain partners transfer registered Scope 3 entries, the system could give food companies a more consistent basis for climate claims. Adoption, verification volumes and financial effects remain unquantified as of Nov. 5, 2026.