The starting point.
The customer is an agricultural producer with sourcing operations across six countries. Scope 3 emissions for the value chain had been estimated using category averages because direct engagement with smallholder producers at scale was assumed to be impractical. Downstream customers and regulators were starting to ask for farm-level granularity, particularly for deforestation-linked categories.
The brief.
Bring 4,200 farms across the value chain into a Scope 3 programme that uses actual production data rather than category averages. Use the channels each farming community already trusted. Keep the workflow inside procurement so reconciliation happens in the background, not in a separate ESG project.
How we rolled out.
1. Partner onboarding through familiar channels.
Tier-2 farming partners received a short structured questionnaire through the channels they already used with the procurement team, including WhatsApp and SMS in geographies where that was the practical default. No vendor portals, no separate logins. Field officers continued to play the trusted role of validating responses.
2. Trade data as the reconciliation backbone.
Trade flows from procurement records, customs filings and logistics planning were reconciled inside Noa to give every kilogram of upstream material a traceable origin. Direct farm responses raised confidence on lines where they were available; modelled lines remained clearly flagged.
3. Farm-level provenance, not category averages.
For categories where farm-level data was achievable, provenance was attached at farm granularity. For categories where it was not yet practical, category averages were retained with their assumptions declared in the open. Downstream customers see the difference, which means the producer can show progress over time rather than a single rolled-up number.
What runs on Noa today.
The Scope 3 value-chain programme runs continuously inside the procurement workflow. Farm onboarding continues season by season, with field officers and partner cooperatives carrying the relationship and Noa carrying the data. Downstream disclosures and customer responses read from one source.
The outcome.
Before
- Scope 3 estimated using category averages with limited granularity
- No structured way to reach smallholder partners at scale
- Trade data reconciled by hand at year end
- No farm-level provenance for deforestation-linked categories
With Noa
- A standing Scope 3 programme across 4,200 farms in six countries
- Onboarding through the channels each community already trusts
- Trade data reconciled continuously inside procurement
- Farm-level provenance where it is achievable, declared assumptions where it is not
A value-chain programme that respects the way each community actually works is the only kind that survives the first audit, and the only kind that improves over time.
Customer details have been generalised. Outcomes described reflect deployments as scoped and may not be representative of all engagements. References to third-party products are descriptive of prior states only.