Aligning GHG emission reduction with economic resilience – the case of Science-Based Targets in the dairy sector

Specifically, we study this in the context of an emerging practice of firms in the food and agricultural sector setting science-based targets (SBTs) for GHG emission reduction. SBTs are targets that are in line with what climate science deems necessary to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

This is a multidisciplinary research project combining the disciplines of management control, accounting and agricultural economics. We apply qualitative and quantitative methods to the analysis of documents, observational-, interview-, and economic experiment data. This is done to fill in the knowledge gaps around GHG emission calculation in decision-making and reporting tools and practices, as well as address needs around SBT-setting and implementation through management controls, including communication nudges and potential incentives acceptable to farmers. Project objectives include:

• identify remaining needs in farm-level GHG emission calculation, reporting and decision-making to support SBT implementation decisions in a way that enables economic considerations and fits new guidance frameworks (e.g., FLAG SBTs).
• identify processor-farmer management control tools for SBT implementation.
• estimate farmers’ willingness to accept identified SBT implementation measures.
• identify nudges to increase the uptake of SBT measures based on farmers’ social norms.