GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals (LSR) Standard
First GHG Protocol standard for land emissions, CO₂ removals and biogenic products. Published 30 January 2026; effective 1 January 2027.
What the LSR Standard is
The Land Sector and Removals (LSR) Standard is the first GHG Protocol standard to provide accounting requirements and guidance for land emissions, CO₂ removals, and biogenic products — categories that the original 2004 Corporate Standard and 2011 Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard did not cover with methodological precision.
It was developed over a five-year process involving more than 300 external reviewers and was published on 30 January 2026. It takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Effective date: 1 January 2027 (GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Standard takes effect; Guidance document publishes Q2 2026; forest carbon accounting deferred to a future update) † · Until then, companies in scope should be transparent about their interim land/removals accounting methodology.
What it covers
Three activity classes:
- Land management and land use change — direct emissions and removals from agricultural, forestry, and other land-use activities within or controlled by the reporting entity
- CO₂ removals with storage — both biological storage (soil carbon, biomass, sediments) and geologic storage (CO₂ capture coupled with geologic sequestration; direct air capture coupled with permanent storage)
- Emissions from biogenic products — and from products derived from technological CO₂ removals — tracked across the value chain (purchased biomass, biofuels, bio-based intermediates, biogenic packaging)
What it does NOT cover (v1.0)
- Forest carbon accounting is explicitly excluded from v1.0 (afforestation, REDD+ inside-inventory disclosure, plantation forestry sequestration claims). The GHG Protocol Steering Committee deferred this to avoid delaying the wider Standard. A Request for Information will be issued and field testing will precede a future update incorporating forest carbon.
- Purchased offsets / market instruments (Verra VCS, Gold Standard, ART TREES, etc.) — these remain the domain of separate offset standards. LSR is an inventory-boundary standard, not an offset-retirement standard.
Why this matters for Indian listed entities
Sectors with the highest LSR exposure in the Indian listed universe:
| Sector | LSR exposure pattern |
|---|---|
| FMCG | Multi-tier agricultural supply chains — tea, coffee, dairy, sugar, edible oils, spices, palm oil derivatives. Scope 3 Category 1 (purchased goods) accounting will need LSR-aligned land/biogenic treatment. |
| Cement | Biomass + alternative fuel co-firing in kilns; biogenic vs fossil CO₂ split matters for net emissions. |
| Power + utilities | Biomass + bagasse co-firing; CCUS pilots; renewable removal claims. |
| Refining + petrochemicals | Biofuel blending mandates (E20 ethanol, biodiesel); biogenic carbon stream tracking. |
| Paper + forestry | Direct land management activities + biogenic product flows. |
| Agri + plantations | Pure-play land sector entities; LSR is the core inventory methodology once effective. |
For BRSR Core filers, the LSR Standard will be the methodological reference that Principle 6 environment disclosures align to once it takes effect — particularly for Scope 1 biogenic splits and any Scope 3 land-use-change claims. SEBI has not yet issued specific guidance on LSR alignment within BRSR Core, but the cross-walk is direct (BRSR Core’s emission-intensity KPIs sit on top of the underlying GHG inventory, and LSR sets the rules for the land/biogenic portion of that inventory).
Interaction with SBTi net-zero claims
The SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.2 requires residual emissions at end-state to be neutralised through permanent removals of CO₂ (≤ 10% of base year emissions). LSR provides the accounting methodology that SBTi-validated companies will use to quantify and report those removals on a comparable basis.
In practice this means three things for an Indian listed entity setting SBTi targets:
- Near-term targets (5-10 year) — no change. SBTi disallows offsets entirely for near-term targets, so LSR’s removals accounting doesn’t enter the picture yet.
- Long-term targets / net-zero — LSR-aligned removals accounting becomes the basis for any residual-emissions neutralisation claim once LSR takes effect.
- Interim period (2026 → 1 January 2027) — companies claiming removals towards net-zero pathways should be transparent about their accounting methodology, and where feasible should already be aligning to the published LSR Standard text in anticipation.
Timeline + what to track
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 30 January 2026 | LSR Standard published (Executive Summary + full Standard PDF, 7.41 MB) |
| March 2026 | Summary of Revisions document published |
| Q2 2026 | Accompanying Guidance document publishes |
| 2026 (TBD) | Request for Information on forest carbon accounting issued |
| 1 January 2027 | LSR Standard takes effect — corporate inventories disclosed for periods starting on or after this date are expected to align |
| Post-2027 | Forest carbon accounting update (after field testing) |
Related glossary terms + methodology pages
For the broader context on where LSR fits within the climate-accounting stack:
- Net-zero vs carbon-neutral — LSR sits inside both claim types but is most strictly required for SBTi-validated net-zero pathways at end-state.
- BRSR Principle 6 — Environment — Indian listed entity disclosure framework; will absorb LSR alignment once SEBI guidance follows.
- CDP Reporting India 2026 — CDP’s climate questionnaire 2026 cycle already permits LSR-aligned disclosure where applicable.
- BRSR for FMCG — sector with the deepest LSR exposure in the Indian listed universe via agricultural supply chains.
Frequently asked questions
When does the LSR Standard take effect?
The Land Sector and Removals Standard was published by GHG Protocol on 30 January 2026 and takes effect from 1 January 2027. The accompanying Guidance document is scheduled to publish in Q2 2026. Forest carbon accounting is NOT included in v1.0 — a Request for Information will be issued separately and field testing will precede a future update incorporating forest carbon.
What does the LSR Standard cover?
Three activity classes: (1) land management and land use change, (2) CO₂ removals with storage in land and geologic carbon pools (including technological removals like direct air capture, and CO₂ capture with geologic storage), and (3) emissions from biogenic products and products derived from technological CO₂ removals across the value chain. It is the first GHG Protocol standard to integrate emissions accounting with CO₂ removals accounting in a single methodology.
Does the LSR Standard replace the Corporate Standard or Scope 3 Standard?
No. It supplements them. The 2004 Corporate Standard (Scope 1/2 boundary definitions) and the 2011 Corporate Value Chain Standard (Scope 3) remain in force. The LSR Standard provides the specific calculation + reporting methodology that companies use within those existing boundaries when their activities involve land management, land use change, biogenic products, or CO₂ removals.
Which Indian companies are most affected?
Sectors with material land sector exposure: FMCG (agricultural supply chains — tea, coffee, dairy, sugar, edible oils, palm oil derivatives), agriculture + plantation companies, paper + forestry, cement (biomass co-firing + alternative fuels), power generation (biomass + bagasse co-firing), refining and petrochemicals (biofuel blending), and any entity claiming Scope 1/3 removals from afforestation or soil carbon projects. For most of these, BRSR Principle 6 environment disclosures will need to align with LSR methodology once it takes effect.
How does the LSR Standard interact with SBTi net-zero claims?
The SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard requires residual emissions at end-state to be neutralised through permanent removals of CO₂ (≤ 10% of base year). The LSR Standard provides the accounting methodology that SBTi-validated companies will use to quantify, report, and track those removals on a comparable basis. Until LSR takes effect (1 January 2027), companies using removals for net-zero targets should be transparent about their chosen accounting methodology — GHG Protocol's interim guidance is explicit on this point.
What about avoidance offsets vs removals?
The LSR Standard does NOT cover purchased carbon credits or offset retirement — that remains the domain of separate market-instrument standards (Verra VCS, Gold Standard, ART TREES). LSR covers a company's own inventory-boundary accounting: emissions it generates from land management activities, and removals it claims from carbon storage on land or in geologic pools that fall within its inventory boundary. The distinction matters: a company can have LSR-compliant inventory accounting and still purchase additional avoidance offsets for separate carbon-neutral claims.
Is forest carbon accounting covered?
Not in v1.0. The GHG Protocol Steering Committee explicitly deferred forest carbon accounting to avoid delaying the wider Standard. A Request for Information will be issued to gather stakeholder input, with field testing preceding a future update. Until then, companies disclosing forest carbon impacts (afforestation, REDD+ project credits inside inventory, plantation forestry) should be transparent about their chosen methodology rather than claim LSR-compliance for forest-related claims.