The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday scrapped a plan opposed by farm groups to mandate the tracking of greenhouse gas emissions in company supply chains, all the way down to family farms. This action occurred as the SEC finalized a rule for large corporations to disclose their carbon footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are extremely pleased to see that the SEC stayed within their scope of regulating the activities of publicly traded companies and did not extend their reach to the farm level,\u201d stated National Potato Council Vice President of Environmental Affairs Ben Sklarczyk, a potato grower from Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Approved by the SEC in a 3-2 vote, the rule limits the disclosure requirement to those that the company produces itself and those associated with its energy consumption (deemed Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dropped was a requirement to disclose emissions (deemed Scope 3), which originate throughout supply chains such as in agriculture. As originally written, it would have mandated a food company to track all the emissions associated with producing the commodities used in its products all the way down to the family farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n