Baseline performance assessment and reporting

A baseline performance assessment establishes a clear, measurable picture of the initial social, environmental, and economic conditions of the landscape, providing a reference point against which future change can be tracked. Involvement of—and validation by—local experts helps ensure that the assessment reflects diverse perspectives, local knowledge, and context-specific data, and provides a credible foundation for defining collective sustainability goals, actions, and monitoring frameworks. Transparent reporting of baseline results supports accountability and builds trust among stakeholders.

Baseline performance assessments can be conducted at different stages of a landscape initiative's journey toward maturity, and their purpose will vary accordingly. They may be undertaken before goal-setting to inform and shape collective sustainability goals, or after goals are defined to establish a benchmark for tracking performance. In some cases, they can also support the refinement of existing goals.

Regardless of timing, a baseline performance assessment should:

• Be holistic, capturing the current state and performance of key ecological and socio-economic dimensions relevant to the landscape.

• Be locally validated, ensuring that the data and insights reflect on-the-ground realities and are credible to local stakeholders.

• Use transparent and repeatable methodologies, allowing for consistency in future assessments and comparability over time.

• Produce actionable findings, supporting informed decision-making and effective landscape management.

The baseline performance assessment may be conducted using LandScale or another relevant service, provided it meets the required validation criteria. Refer to the assessment guidelines to learn more about LandScale's baseline performance assessment process and the steps to get started.

Requirements and validation criteria

To assess whether a landscape initiative has a baseline performance assessment with transparent reporting, LandScale requests specific information via tailored questions. Submitted materials are used to evaluate and validate the extent to which the baseline performance assessment and reporting sub-criterion is met.

Baseline performance assessment.	If conducted outside of LandScale, documentation of the baseline performance assessment report is provided. The report should: Identify the entities responsible for conducting the assessment. Confirm that it evaluates the current state of the landscape, considering social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Include the assessment methodology and data sources. Indicate the year it was completed.
Validation by local experts.	If validated outside of LandScale, indication of whether local experts were involved in validating the baseline performance assessment. Examples of local validation approaches may include: Stakeholder review meetings to assess findings. Formal validation processes with documented feedback integration. Signed endorsements or agreements from key stakeholders. Where local expert involvement in validation is indicated, supporting evidence is provided, including the entities responsible for validation and a summary of the feedback or review comments provided.
Validation by an independent party.	Optionally, if validated outside of LandScale, indication of whether the baseline performance assessment was validated by an independent party. Where independent validation is indicated, supporting evidence is provided, including the validating entity and a summary of the feedback or review comments provided.
Transparent reporting.	If published outside of LandScale, indication of whether the baseline performance assessment has been publicly reported, including: Types of data shared. Platform(s) used for reporting.

Once validation is complete, the baseline performance assessment and reporting sub-criterion on the wheel at the top of the initiative's profile will be filled to reflect the assigned maturity level, with validated information visible throughout the profile unless it is set to private.