Co-Claiming: A New Way to Share and Maintain the Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture
Athian’s platform was built from the ground up to track and verify co-claims. It connects every step of the process, automates documentation and enables defensible Scope 3 reporting.
In today’s agricultural supply chains, the push toward sustainability often comes with a big challenge: who pays for change – and who gets to claim the results?
“Traditionally, only one company could make a claim for a positive outcome,” says Kendra Tolley, Athian’s chief product officer. “The single claim model left little room for collaboration and limited the number of on-farm improvements that could be funded. Co-claiming changes that.”
Co-claiming Scope 3 emissions means multiple companies within a value chain, like milk processors, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers or foodservice operations, jointly claim credit for reducing greenhouse gas emissions within their shared supply chain. They collaborate on mitigation efforts and transparently report their collective sustainability impact across the value chain.
This approach also allows multiple stakeholders in a supply chain to divide up their investment in on-farm practice changes, which makes consistent, ongoing financial rewards for participating producers more doable for downstream companies.
“In the end,” Tolley says, “co-claiming benefits farmers, co-claimants and the environment all at once.”
It’s simple in principle. If you help fund the change, you get to claim the credit. The benefits are shared, which ensures transparency and fairness while directing funds back to the producers making the improvements.
Why It’s a Game-Changer
Scope 3 emissions often represent the most significant portion of a company's overall carbon footprint. Historically, only the largest CPG companies have had the budget to fund the necessary on-farm changes. While still impactful, this level of investment is expensive and hard to maintain over time. That is why addressing Scope 3 emissions more holistically requires collaboration across the value chain.
“Co-claiming makes sustainability scalable by spreading the cost of practice changes across multiple participants,” says Tolley. “Making long-term investment more feasible and expanding the number and size of companies, and farms, that can participate.”
How It Works in Practice
Partnerships can begin in two ways. For supply chains that are clearly defined, with traceable product flows and shared sustainability goals, Athian helps “connect the dots.”
“Leveraging our knowledge of supply chains, we introduce relevant stakeholders to collaborative opportunities,” says Tolley.
The other option is through customer-driven connections. This is when a company brings a known supply chain partner into the conversation, and then Athian facilitates the project. In both cases, Athian manages the process to ensure everyone is aligned and the benefits are clearly tracked. Only those who invest can make claims, so Athian helps credibly tie recognition to supply chain action.
It doesn’t mean the process is simple. Fragmented or complex supply chains with multiple connecting points can be harder to align. For example, in ice cream production, milk may move through several processors before reaching store shelves, making coordination more complicated.
The Role of Technology
Fortunately, Athian’s platform was built from the ground up to track and verify co-claims. It connects every step of the process, automates documentation and enables defensible Scope 3 reporting.
“One of the most important things for the buyers we work with is the ability to defensibly claim progress toward reaching their goals,” says Tolley. “So much of what determines return on investment for companies funding emissions reductions in their supply chains is having the ability to demonstrate, through verification, that the reductions actually occurred."
By working through Athian on this critically important verification process, companies can expand their sustainability programs without sacrificing credibility or adding to existing internal workload.
Why It Matters to Producers
For farmers and other producers, co-claiming can make all the difference. Pooling investment from multiple stakeholders stretches funding further. That, in return, opens the door for more producers to participate and benefit from on-farm improvements. This results in additional revenue streams, broader adoption of sustainable practices and a stronger agricultural sector.
“Every time downstream partners come together to invest in on-farm improvements and rewards, it helps support the viability of food production,” says Tolley. “Successful farming operations are essential to resilient supply chains and ultimately, food security.”
Co-claiming makes sustainability a shared effort across the supply chain. It creates a win for producers, supply chain partners and the environment. To learn more, contact us at info@athian.ag.
