Advancing Scope 3 Compliance in Oat Supply Chains

Challenge

Oatly faced the challenge of transforming its oat supply chain—spanning thousands of acres and numerous third-party suppliers—into a climate-aligned system without overburdening growers or sacrificing data integrity. The company required:

• A credible system to track on-farm regenerative practices like cover cropping and reduced tillage
• Field- and region-level modeling of soil carbon changes and GHG emissions
• Aggregated insights aligned with Scope 3 Category 1 reporting requirements under the GHG Protocol
• A means to engage suppliers using real, benchmarked data without needing universal grower participation

Traditional sustainability metrics and reporting tools lacked the spatial precision, data flexibility, and modeling rigor to meet these needs.

‍

‍

Solution

To meet this challenge, Regrow deployed Sustainability Insights, a software platform designed to monitor regenerative agriculture outcomes across complex sourcing landscapes. The platform allowed Oatly to:

• Monitor field-level practices through satellite analysis
• Model emissions and carbon outcomes using biogeochemical tools (DNDC)
• Aggregate insights across oat sourcing zones
• Produce actionable KPIs for both sustainability and procurement teams

The product’s ability to deliver decision-grade, Scope 3-aligned data—at scale—was a result of Jeff Butler’s product leadership, including:

1. Scope 3-Ready Emissions Monitoring

Butler architected the Sustainability Insights platform to support science-based, auditable emissions modeling that aligns with Scope 3 accounting standards. He led the integration of:

• Remote sensing pipelines to detect practices like cover cropping and tillage across supply sheds
• Biogeochemical modeling to simulate GHG emissions and soil organic carbon changes
• IPCC-aligned emissions factors and GHG Protocol compatibility for audit and disclosure

This ensured that Oatly could report on emissions reductions with confidence and regulatory alignment.

2. Flexible Data Inputs for Grower Privacy and Scale

Recognizing the sensitivity of grower data and variability in access, Butler designed the platform to operate across a tiered data fidelity model:

• Tier 1: Remote sensing + publicly available land use data
• Tier 2: Aggregated grower data (where available)
• Tier 3: Verified field-level management data

This allowed Oatly to build a robust Scope 3 inventory and monitor sustainability progress without requiring full participation from every grower.

3. Geospatial Benchmarking and Supplier Targeting

Butler introduced a supply shed intelligence module within the product that enabled Oatly to:

• Prioritize regions with the highest emissions mitigation potential
• Benchmark regenerative practice adoption across counties and suppliers
• Allocate incentives and engagement strategies based on spatial and environmental impact data

This empowered Oatly’s sourcing teams to act on the data, not just report it.

4. Decision-Grade Dashboards and KPIs

Butler led the development of dashboards tailored to enterprise users, surfacing key metrics such as:

• Percentage of oat acres under regenerative practices
• CO₂e per acre and per metric ton of oats
• Year-over-year trends in practice adoption and emissions intensity

These outputs supported both internal strategy development and external stakeholder communications.

‍

Results

Oatly’s collaboration with Regrow and the deployment of Sustainability Insights, led by Jeff Butler, drove meaningful business and sustainability outcomes:

• Field-level monitoring of over 85% of oat acres in the North American supply chain
• Modeling of GHG emissions and SOC change across >300,000 acres, aligned with Scope 3 frameworks
• Supply shed prioritization based on mitigation potential, enabling more efficient resource deployment
• Increased visibility for procurement teams and greater supplier alignment with sustainability goals

This enabled Oatly to operationalize its regenerative sourcing strategy and fulfill Scope 3 reporting obligations with scientific and spatial integrity (source).

‍