Land Directly Controlled: Sustainably Managed (OI6912)

Area of land directly controlled by the organization and under sustainable cultivation or sustainable stewardship. Report directly controlled land area sustainably managed during the reporting period.

Reporting Format Unit of Measure (PD1602)
Metric Type Submetric
Metric Level Organization
IRIS Metric Citation IRIS, 2021. Land Directly Controlled: Sustainably Managed (OI6912). v5.2.

Footnote

Organizations should footnote details about the nature of the direct control relationship and all assumptions used, including source of data. See usage guidance for further information.

Usage Guidance

The IRIS catalog differentiates between land that the organization directly controls and land that the organization indirectly controls. This metric is intended to capture the area of land that is under the organization's direct control.
Direct control refers to land for which the organization controls land use through direct operation or management, including situations in which the organization's employees cultivate the land directly. Note that land ownership is not always equivalent to control. For example, where land is leased to another entity or individual to cultivate (e.g., a third-party manager), land is only directly controlled if the lease is accompanied by exhaustive criteria for land use.
Such land-use criteria are often included in management plans and legal agreements that also incorporate sustainability principles and typically include termination provisions in the event of poor performance. To the extent that the third-party manager must make minimal, ad-hoc, and discretionary land-use decisions that fall outside the scope of the land-use criteria, the land may still be considered directly controlled by the organization.
Sustainability, in a broad sense, includes sustainable working conditions for employees responsible for land management, resource exploitation that guarantees the continuous delivery of ecosystem services for current and future generations, and even land that has been put under strict no-deforestation requirements. If, for example, a third party manages land under a lease contract, contract conditions and clauses should specify required management, exploitation, ethics, techniques, and conditions of contract termination. The organization should footnote details of these contracts and monitor whether the third party meets the requirements.

Related metrics

This is a submetric of Land Directly Controlled: Total (OI5408), which has 3 other related submetrics.

Impact Categories & Themes

SDG Goals & Targets

Joint Impact Indicators (JII)

Land Directly Controlled: Sustainably Managed (OI6912) is required for Joint Impact Indicator: Sustainable Management of Natural Resources.

JII definition: Hectares of land covered by sustainable land management practices, verified as being sustainable managed according to internationally recognized standards. Sustainable management of living natural resources includes both biodiversity and environmental services. Proxies of certification through an independent audit and verification process may be used to determine sustainable use. Distinct methodologies may need to be used for forestry, farmland, etc.

JII unit of measurement: ha (land meeting standards and/or certified)

Metric History

June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)

Immaterial change. Minor revision to usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released

No change.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released

No change.
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released

Material change. Glossary and corresponding text in metric's usage guidance modified to clarify the issue of direct control in the case of third-party management of the land.
March 2014 - IRIS v3.0 Released

Material change. Metric definition modified to provide clarity based on Land Conservation Working Group.
November 2011 - IRIS v2.2 Released

Material change. Sustainable Cultivated Land Area - Direct (OI6912) and Sustainable Cultivated Land Area - Indirect (PI6796) replaced Sustainable Cultivated Land Area (OI2605). Metric bifurcated to allow for reporting regarding land not directly operated by enterprise.
February 2011 - IRIS v2.1 Released

No change.
September 2010 - IRIS v2.0 Released

Immaterial change. Sustainable Cultivated Land Area (OI2605) replaced Cultivated Land Area: Sustainable (A7.1). IRIS ID / metric name changed due to framework upgrade.
September 2009 - IRIS v1.0 Released

New metric. Cultivated Land Area: Sustainable (A7.1) was developed via the Original IRIS Working Group.

Footnote

IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets