Ranch owners might have a big role to play in the future of carbon credits. And now, they have a brand new partner: Microsoft.
What’s happening:
- Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has entered into a new purchase agreement with carbon credits company Grassroots Carbon to buy high quality carbon removal credits generated by ranchers
The big idea:
- Grassroots Carbon partners with ranch owners in the United States to implement regenerative farming practices for carbon removal
- Farmland has enormous potential to sequester carbon, however most farmland is managed conventionally and depletes soil carbon
- Carbon that is sequestered into deep root systems has the potential to stay in the soil for thousands of years, acting as a great option for carbon removal from the atmosphere
- By implementing regenerative farmland practices-such as rotating cattle more frequently to allow the forage on the grazed ground to recover faster and accelerate the process of photosynthesis- ranchers are able to actually capture carbon and draw it deep underground for permanent removal
By the numbers:
- Grassroots Carbon has over 200,000 acres of land owned by individual ranchers participating in generating carbon credits
- To date, Grassroots Carbon has paid out over $2M USD to ranch owners for generating high quality carbon removal credits
Going deeper:
- Shopify, Marathon Oil, Nestle and other companies currently have carbon credit purchase agreements with Grassroots Carbon
The intrigue:
- This is the first time Microsoft has ever purchased carbon credits that are generated from regeneratively managed grasslands
