DRIVING RAPID IMPACT REDUCTION
Unlock has a deep focus on detailed, credible, and validated data, with systems uniquely adapted to the needs of the raw materials supply chain and drive rapid impact reduction
Our data process
Unlock runs on an annual cycle with enrolled farmers, to collect and validate field boundaries and practice data, carry out quantification, and then provide direct outcome-based support alongside an annual scorecard for each farmer.
This process iteratively supports farmers to understand their impacts, have the resources required to address these impacts, and move towards ultra-low impact farming
Step 1: Farmer enrollment
Each farmer and each field are enrolled in Unlock via an online system designed to make the process as streamlined and simple as possible. To expand the programme, new farmers are enrolled each year, but farmers are enrolled for the long term wherever possible.
In India and Pakistan, a bespoke Unlock app is used to allow farmers of different levels of literacy to understand and agree to the programme terms. Each field is then mapped by our implementing partners, and farmers are provided with training on the Unlock system as well as practices most likely to reduce impacts during the growing year.
In the USA, farmers consent via a detailed programme agreement, which includes safeguards on double counting, and each of their fields is selected from pre-approved field boundaries .
Step 2: Practice data collection
The core of the Unlock data system is highly granular practice data. A large range of agronomic practices - including irrigation, soil management, crop rotation, application of fertilisers and pesticides, and crop clearing and crop burning - are monitored for every farmer and field enrolled in Unlock.
Each region has a bespoke data collection system, which accounts for the specifics of typical farming practices in the region, and the challenges of working in some regions with small farms, or collecting remotely without connectivity.
Historical practice data is also collected for each farmer alongside the data for the year being assessed. We also gather data on typical regional farming practices, to allow a comparative assessment with farmers in that region. All of this data is processed by an automated system which gathers data together for further processing.
Step 3: Data validation
Once data is collected, it is extremely important to ensure that it is accurate for each farm and field. Our system has several layers of data checks designed to ensure that data is highly accurate.
The first layer is the data collection process itself - working with credible partners that can validate the data as it is being collected. This includes our implementing partners in India and Pakistan as well as Indigo Ag in the US.
The next layer is through detailed data checking processes. This includes the use of satellite data to validate field boundaries, the presence of the reported crop, and specific data practices that can be seen from space. We also use photographic evidence to cross-reference reported data, as well as evidence gathered in the field, and a detailed checking system that identifies and flags any inconsistencies or errors and sends them back to field teams for further checking.
Finally, Unlock systems are validated and verified through credible third parties like our partner SustainCert.
Step 4: Impact quantification
The final result of the data process is to create greenhouse gas emissions calculations for each field and farmer across the programme. In the US, this is done through the MRV of our data partners Indigo Ag. In India and Pakistan, this is done through the bespoke Unlock quantification system designed to account for the highly specific inputs and practices in these regions.
The GHG quantification process is carried out in line with VM42 and LSRG requirements in the USA, and with SustainCert VCI requirements in India and Paksitan. This creates soil organic carbon removals and farmer practice reductions claims in the USA, and farmer practice reductions claims in India and Pakistan. We will continue to explore the application of these different methods in our progarmme regions, as well as engagement engaging with global standard setting bodies to ensure methods account for Global South realities.
While GHG impacts are the core of the programme, brands interested in other impact areas can explore these with the Unlock team who can share the work being done to quantify ecolgical and social metrics and claims for farmers.
Step 5: Brand Claims
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Unlock brand members are the backbone of the programme, providing the financial incentives to the farmers and receiving the GHG quantification benefits for reporting within their scope 3 accounting.
Depending on specific brand needs and traceability data, Unlock connects companies to farmers that are within their supply chain or supply shed, with the relevant claims and characteristics. Brands do not need to change their sourcing strategy - rather Unlock's data system sits 'on top of' existing structures and uses existing supply chain information to create connections.
We support brands to work through each stage of the Unlock Unit claims and reporting process, and register these claims on our official registry.
Step 6 : Farmer incentives and feedback
Because impacts are calculated for each farmer, Unlock can pinpoint exactly how much of the Unlock Unit payments are allocated to each farmer. Because Unlock is non-profit, we also guarantee that 100% of Unlock Unit payments go back to the farmer, while other programmes might send as little as 20% to farm level. This allows us to provide maximum support to farmers for continued impact reduction, practice change, and livelihood support.
We also provide an annual scorecard back to each farmer, to give them clear feedback on areas where they can continue to reduce impacts. This is designed to empower farmers, who often do not have individual farm and field impact assessment data available to them. With Unlock, many farmers can see for the first time which interventions are most succesful in driving down impact, and are strongly incentivised to rapidly reduce these impacts further.
This is the final outcome of the Unlock system - to allow farmers to target maximum impact reduction year on year until they have reached unprecedented levels of sustainable production. This in turn allows brands to reduce their reported raw materials emissions in the short term, and radically reduce or eliminate them in the medium term.
Technical White Papers
The Unlock Programme isn't just working with farmers - it is also leading analysis into challenges, opportunities and solutions in the climate, ecology and finance spaces. Below are a range of our recent technical white papers, sharing our analysis and learnings with the wider world
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