Key Takeaways:
- hold.earth has been certified for European-based carbon credits by the Open Forest Protocol (OFP).
- Certification covers Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation (ARR) projects, which are rare in Europe.
- This development aims to address the demand for certified EU-based offsets and mitigate corporate greenwashing.
- hold.earth’s rigorous monitoring and reporting methods were crucial for certification.
- The scarcity of verifiable carbon offsets highlights the need for credible reduction and verification processes.
hold.earth, a carbon impact hub connecting carbon credit projects with organizations seeking to offset CO2 emissions, has received certification for the first European-based carbon credits from the Open Forest Protocol (OFP). This certification, focused on Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation (ARR) projects, is notably rare in Europe and aims to meet the demand for certified offsets while addressing corporate greenwashing.
Achieving Certification
Greta Sidlauskiene, Co-founder and CEO of hold.earth, highlighted the meticulous efforts behind the certification. “We achieved this by implementing rigorous monitoring and reporting methods, tracking tree growth, survival rates, biomass, and soil carbon levels on our afforestation projects. Our careful work over three years has made it possible to bring ARR certified carbon credits to Europe,” she said.
Addressing the Shortage of Verified Offsets
The carbon offset system requires every tonne of carbon emitted to be offset by an equivalent unit of carbon credit. According to Sidlauskiene, there is a notable shortage of high-quality offsets that genuinely fulfill the promise of true emission compensation.
“Many companies struggle to provide traceable offset data because project providers either disappear or their projects lack verification. Investment in unverifiable offsetting initiatives is a form of greenwashing,” she explained. The scarcity of verifiable offsets underscores the need for credible reduction and robust verification processes.
Open Forest Protocol’s Standards
OFP’s certification process has stringent requirements. Projects must last at least 40 years, with the developer holding rights to the land and credits throughout this period. Eligible projects include Afforestation & Reforestation (A/R) and certain Agroforestry projects, avoiding existing forests, deforestation, or timber harvesting. Projects must plant native species, avoid single-species plantations, and maintain homogeneous tree distribution. Meeting OFP standards can take up to three years, followed by three months for certification and up to twelve months to generate credits.
Satisfying Demand for Reliable Credits
Cate Kelly, head of communications at OFP, noted challenges in the voluntary carbon market, including high costs and fragmented infrastructure. hold.earth and OFP aim to support small landowner projects for carbon credit generation and digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV).
Future Goals
The new ARR credits enable hold.earth to expand into new markets within the voluntary carbon sector. Sidlauskiene reported a continuous rise in afforestation project sales and a substantial increase in revenue from 2022 to 2024. hold.earth plans to pursue new afforestation projects and advanced monitoring technologies over the next two years.
“Our long-term goal is to scale our approach to finding and certifying quality landowner projects across the EU and eventually the US market. We aim to reach 10 million carbon tonne offsets per year by 2050, equating to more than 2 million trees planted per year,” Sidlauskiene concluded.
