Outcomes

ESMC works with industry-leading experts to develop rigorous outcomes based on farmer practices.

Through EcoHarvest, our team uses farmers’ historical and current year data, first-year soil sample results, and publicly available weather data in a scientific model to calculate the amount of increased carbon stored in the soil/reduced greenhouse gases based on practice implementation. These outcomes form the basis of the quantified and verified outcomes that food and beverage companies purchase to meet commitments to reduce emissions in their supply chain.

In 2025, we announced changes to the EcoHarvest program to lead to more predictable outcomes and financial returns, reduced data entry and a more streamlined experience for participating farmers. We began paying for a practice model where farmers are paid for the adoption or continued maintenance of conservation practices. In short, our program is moving from intervention accounting to inventory accounting.

For years, the carbon markets have debated two ways of measuring climate impacts in agriculture. Intervention accounting tracks the adoption of practices: cover crops, reduced tillage, or nutrient management, and assigns modeled emissions reductions to those interventions. It is straightforward, easier to start, and acceptable for encouraging early adoption.

But intervention accounting has limits. Buyers and regulators increasingly want measurable, verifiable outcomes rather than just evidence of practice change. That’s where inventory accounting comes in. Inventory accounting measures or models actual changes in carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions over time. In short, it reflects what is happening in the soil, the biomass, and the atmosphere, not just what was attempted through a practice.

For CPGs, this means credits and supply chain outcomes they can use with greater confidence in public reporting, sustainability disclosures, and regulatory filings. For producers, it means that their soil carbon gains and emissions reductions are captured as tangible, quantifiable results, not just a checkbox of practices.