Key Highlights:
- Post-farm emissions under the spotlight: New Criteria targets 33.8% of agri-food emissions generated beyond the farm gate—from food waste to processing and retail.
- Builds on deforestation and conversion free criteria: The new criteria embed deforestation and conversion free sourcing commitments and evidence of compliance within the supply chain.
- Actionable pathways for change: The Criteria identify eight key areas for climate-aligned investment, including energy use, transport, green cold chains, and waste reduction.
- Aims to channel green finance into key players such as retailers, distributors, and manufacturers who can shape upstream and downstream impacts.
The Climate Bonds Initiative today launches its Food Value Chain Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme—marking a pivotal expansion of climate-focused finance into an overlooked yet emissions-intensive parts of the global food system.
The Food Value Chain (FVC) addresses post-production activities—such as storage, transportation, processing, packaging, distribution, retail, household consumption, and waste disposal—before food reaches consumers. While agri-food systems are responsible for 35% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a full third (33.8%) of these originates after production of food. Yet post-farm emissions have long remained under-addressed, highlighting a critical gap in climate finance and policy.
The Food Value Chain Criteria addresses this gap with a science-based framework for screening eligible investments – debt instruments and assets — ensuring they reduce emissions and enhance climate resilience across these post-production stages. The new criteria complete the coverage of the overall agri-food system from guidance on production and use of inputs, deforestation and conversion free crop and livestock production, commitments to deforestation and conversion free sourcing along the value chain, alternative proteins production and now, post farm-gate emissions. Commitments to avoiding deforestation and landscape conversion from all supply chain actors are the foundation for the production and value chain criteria due to the critical role of deforestation and conversion on sustainability goals.
Developed with input from its Industry and Technical Working Groups of global experts, the new Criteria emphasise context-specific solutions and highlight the importance of tailoring interventions based on local emissions profiles and value chain structures. While global targets matter, effective implementation depends on scalable and affordable strategies that deliver measurable outcomes without creating negative environmental or social impacts.
Aishwarya Sankar, Sustainability Analyst, Climate Bonds Initiative:
“As populations grow and consumption habits evolve, addressing emissions across the Food Value Chain has become increasingly urgent. These new Criteria provide actionable guidance for directing climate finance into often-overlooked areas—such as cold storage, transport, food waste, and household consumption—where targeted investment can drive significant climate impact throughout the entire food system”
Francesca Nugnes, PARM/IFAD / Member of the Food Value Chain Technical Working Group:
" Complying with a credible green labelling system helps organizations streamline their operations, align with global sustainability standards, and attract investors. In agriculture, certification often involved de-risked practices like climate-resilient farming techniques, sustainable water use, or improved traceability, which directly address production and market risks.”
Marjolien Hanssen, Rabobank / Member of the Food Value Chain Industry Working Group:
"As global food, agriculture and energy transition bank, we very much welcome the Food Value Chain Criteria by Climate Bond Initiative. Robust and trustworthy certification standards help develop sustainable capital market transactions in the food value chain sector and grow sustainable investments towards decarbonization."
As the world grapples with the twin crises of climate change and unsustainable food consumption, the Food Value Chain has emerged as a critical intervention point. With emissions from this sector rising faster than farm-level sources—especially in high and middle-income countries—transforming the food value chain is essential to achieving global climate goals.
The development of the Food Value Chain Criteria is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through The Finance Hub, which was created to advance sustainable finance.
