Key Takeaways
- Microsoft’s Purchase: Microsoft has agreed to purchase 40,000 agricultural soil-based carbon credits from Indigo Ag, marking the largest single purchase for the company.
- Verification and Protocol: The credits are verified under the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol, ensuring high standards and integrity.
- Climate Action Goals: This purchase supports Microsoft’s 2030 goal to become carbon-negative, highlighting the demand for robust, science-backed agricultural soil-based credits.
- Indigo Ag’s Capabilities: Indigo Ag’s measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) capabilities ensure the integrity and durability of the credits, benefiting growers and reducing emissions.
- Broader Impact: Indigo Ag’s Sustainability Solutions have significantly reduced GHG emissions and saved substantial water in agriculture.
Indigo Ag has announced a significant agreement with Microsoft. The tech giant will purchase 40,000 agricultural soil-based carbon credits from Indigo Ag’s third carbon crop, issued in February. This deal represents the largest number of credits ever delivered by Indigo Ag to an individual buyer, marking a major milestone for the company.
Verification and Protocol
The carbon credits purchased by Microsoft are verified and issued by the Soil Enrichment Protocol of the Climate Action Reserve, one of the world’s most trusted independent carbon registries. This verification ensures the credits’ robustness, integrity, and durability, which are critical factors for buyers seeking reliable carbon offsets.
Supporting Climate Action Goals
Microsoft selected Indigo Ag’s carbon program to integrate soil carbon removals into its climate action portfolio. This initiative supports Microsoft’s ambitious goal to become carbon negative by 2030. The agreement underscores the growing demand for robust, science-backed agricultural soil-based credits and highlights the increasing maturity of the voluntary carbon market.
Indigo Ag’s MRV Capabilities
Indigo Ag’s Carbon program is underpinned by scientifically peer-reviewed measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) capabilities. These capabilities ensure the integrity and durability of the carbon credits, enabling growers to realize the value of adopting and sustaining new practices that generate these credits. Beyond its carbon program, Indigo Ag deploys its MRV capabilities to help companies in the agri-food value chain reduce their Scope 3 emissions and produce low-carbon intensity crop feedstocks for biofuels. To date, Indigo’s Sustainability Solutions have reduced and removed over 340,000 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and saved over 19 billion gallons of water used in agriculture.
Leadership and Commitment
Dean Banks, CEO at Indigo Ag, commented: “Today’s announcement is a major milestone for Indigo’s Carbon program and our increasing range of ag-based sustainability solutions. Microsoft is a leader in corporate climate action, a highly influential player in carbon removals, and shares our commitment to support the transition to a more resilient and sustainable agriculture system.”
Banks emphasized the significance of the partnership: “Our program’s selection by Microsoft is a significant win for science-based, high-integrity agricultural soil carbon credits. We have uniquely and substantively invested in the scientific rigor of our program since 2018 to meet the strict standards of premier crediting programs like the Climate Action Reserve. We are working with our partners to enable growers to benefit from valuable, durable new revenue streams that reward them for their efforts in changing practices.”
Microsoft’s Perspective
Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft, highlighted the importance of soil organic carbon restoration: “Soil organic carbon restoration is vital to the future of food systems, economies, and climate change mitigation. We are pleased to collaborate with Indigo Ag to advance both the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices and the scientific evidence base of soil organic carbon.”
Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash
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