For companies with SBTi-aligned climate targets, the biggest emissions challenges often lie beyond their own operations – in the agricultural raw materials that sit upstream in the value chain. For canola, the overall carbon footprint depends heavily on how the crop is farmed, with around 90% of greenhouse gas emissions generated at farm level through agricultural practices. Access to credible, supply-chain-specific data is therefore increasingly important for tracking progress, identifying reduction opportunities, and supporting more robust Scope 3 reporting.
ImpAAKtful™ canola was created to help address that challenge. Launched in 2024, the initiative is part of AAK’s broader climate strategy, which aims for a 33.3% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 versus a 2019 baseline, and net zero by 2050. It uses a digital climate performance platform to collect and verify primary, field-level emissions data from farmers within AAK’s segregated Swedish supply chain.
Personal Care customers purchasing canola-based emollients sourced through ImpAAKtful™ - namely LIPEX® PreAct™, LIPEX® Bassol C™, and LIPEX 120™ - can access Scope 3 emissions data specific to their ingredient sourcing.. This can be used to support reporting against SBTi-aligned targets, CSRD requirements, and other sustainability frameworks.
From Better Farming to Better Data
ImpAAKtful™ canola is built around two connected pillars. The first focuses on reducing impact at farm level through regenerative agriculture practices that help lower emissions, improve soil health, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen long-term supply resilience. The second focuses on turning those on-the-ground improvements into verified emissions data that customers can use to support credible Scope 3 reporting and other sustainability disclosure needs.
Early results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Emissions associated with ImpAAKtful™ are 37% lower than a standard European canola benchmark* and 28% lower than a standard Swedish benchmark**
Pillar 1: Regenerative Agriculture Practices
ImpAAKtful™ is an ongoing collaboration between AAK and Swedish farmer cooperatives. Participants can choose from a range of regenerative agriculture measures, including precision farming, low-emission fertilizers, cover crops, reduced tillage, crop rotation, natural habitat creation, and fossil-free field operations. Each farmer selects the activities best suited to their land, production system, and emissions-reduction opportunities.
The initiative combines voluntary participation with financial incentives that help farmers transition to regenerative agriculture. Each activity is assigned points, and farmers must reach a minimum threshold to qualify for financial rewards to help offset costs and recognize the environmental improvements achieved.
Current insights show that fertilizer choice and precision farming are among the most frequently selected measures for lowering emissions and helping to reduce input costs through more targeted use of fertilizer, seed, and crop protection.
Pillar 2: Verified Field-Level Data
The second pillar addresses a common challenge for procurement and sustainability teams: the lack of reliable, supply-chain-specific emissions data for the agricultural raw materials they source.
AAK works with Improvin’, an independent climate performance platform based in Sweden, which helps collect, validate, and cross-check primary emissions data from farmers in the segregated supply chain. The platform pre-populates farm-level information using crop, yield, soil, and satellite data from multiple sources, which farmers review and confirm each season. The data covers agricultural production up to the farm gate and is independently verified by a third party.
Customers can access this information for the three ImpAAKtful™ emollients via the product carbon footprint documentation listed on the individual product pages at aakpersonalcare.com. The product carbon footprint includes both primary emissions data for agricultural production up to the farm gate and modelled calculations for transport, processing, and other lifecycle stages from the farm gate to the factory gate.
From Farmer Partnership to Industry Recognition
ImpAAKtful™ uses a farmer-centric, outcome-driven approach that benefits the entire supply chain. The value exchange is simple: farmers receive financial rewards and technical support for adopting regenerative practices; AAK secures a more resilient and transparent supply chain; and customers gain access to ingredients connected to measurable improvements and credible data. The collaborative nature of the project also allows customers to invest directly in regenerative agricultural practices to increase on-farm biodiversity or reduce emissions further.
This approach has already earned external validation. ImpAAKtful™ Canola received an Honorable Mention at L'Oréal's Spread the Green Vibes 2026 Awards, which recognized best-in-class practices and celebrated concrete, scalable solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
Lisette Townsend, Global Business Development and Marketing Director for AAK Personal Care, attended the event in Paris to collect the award, introduce the two-minute educational video, and explain the collaborative model behind the initiative. She highlighted how this next-generation supply chain model is helping advance the shift from sustainability claims toward measurable impact on climate and landscape health.
As regulatory and reporting expectations around climate disclosures become more rigorous, customers need transparent, traceable Scope 3 emissions data that is specific to their own supply chains. To learn more about how ImpAAKtful™ canola can help meet that need, contact your local AAK representative.
References
1. *ImpAAKtful Program Results
2. **Agri-footprint
