We can help prevent further climate change by restoring forest landscapes
“Companies should take action or make investments outside their own value chains to mitigate GHG emissions in addition to their near-term and long-term science-based targets. For example, a company could provide annual support to projects, programs and solutions that provide quantifiable benefits to climate, especially those that generate additional co-benefits for people and nature”
What are Verdanta’s goals?
We want to make a BIG impact in the global fight against climate change. We’re a mission-driven business with clear goals that we believe will contribute significantly towards achieving Net Zero and a healthier, happier planet:
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This is equivalent to roughly 140,000 football pitches or, if you prefer, about 2/3rds the size of London! Forests are spread across multiple project sites, diversifying risk and bringing benefits to a wider range of communities in East Africa. All our reforestation efforts are focused on planting native species, especially vulnerable and endangered species.
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Each of our removals projects will make positive contributions to at least 5 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a combination of revenue sharing from sale of carbon offsets and community projects that Verdanta invests in directly.
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All our forestry projects will use a wide range of tree species to ensure that local biodiversity is enhanced and to promote wider biodiversity e.g. insects, birds and small mammals
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Carbon Markets, and Afforestation, Reforestation and Regeneration (ARR) activities in particular have enormous potential to promote climate justice by channeling significant capital investment into local communities in Africa.
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When thinking of Nature-based solutions to remove carbon we should think in decades rather than years. But the work starts now so that the benefit of the forests we’re planting can be felt for generations to come.
Our Core Principles
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We recognise that protection of existing forests is a vital part of efforts to protect our planet and to fight climate change. However, Verdanta is focussed solely on nature based carbon removals. This is because we believe that in the coming decades the challenge is not only to prevent more CO2 being released into the atmosphere, but to return CO2 levels to historic norms.
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We want purchasers pf carbon credits from Verdanta’s projects to be confident that the credits that they are purchasing are from real projects, that are really removing carbon from the atmosphere and are having real positive benefits on livelihoods and landscapes. To achieve this we make sure that right from the start, all aspects of the project development process are documented and made publicly available.
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We acknowledge that Permanence is a challenge in nature-based solutions. However, we structure all our projects to ensure permanence beyond the initial crediting period and help ensure that the carbon removed from the atmosphere is sequestered for the long-term. This can include taking long terms leases on land that is being replanted and/or putting legally binding agreements in place to ensure that project areas are protected from future degradation by law.
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One of the great things about nature-based carbon removal projects is that they offer great scope for not only sequestering carbon but also restoring biodiversity. We take a particular interest in projects that have the potential to greatly increase the biodiversity of flora and fauna in a given area.
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Robustness is a value that runs through all Verdanta projects. From robust project methodologies that conservatively estimate sequestration rates, to robust validation and verification by accredited third party project auditors. We make sure that everything about our projects stands-up to scrutiny.
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When the carbon credit mechanism was developed under the UN Kyoto Protocol, one of the intentions was that carbon credits act as a way of directing capital investment to the global south, where it was envisaged that the majority of credits would be originated. This vision runs through everything we do today as a company - by facilitating investment in carbon removal projects in sub-saharan Africa we’re proud to be supporting contributions to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with every project.
Our Approach to Nature-Based Removal Projects
Assess.
We search across countries in the global south for depleted biomes where forestry restoration and protection can have a significant impact. We always assess for likely positive impact of any project not just on the earth’s atmosphere, through sequestration of CO2, but also on human development indicators locally.
Engage.
Engaging communities who live on and around the carbon project sights is an absolutely key part of our approach. All our projects have local ownership and we engage local representatives (village leaders, spiritual leaders etc.) early on in the project design process to ensure that long-term mutual benefit is built into all stages of implementation and delivery.
Validate.
Our project planning documents are rigorously audited by an independent expert auditing team, who ensure that our planned forests really will deliver the benefits that we intend.
Implement.
Planting primarily indigenous species of trees not only restores vital biomes but also promotes biodiversity and reduces the risk of impermanence. Planting has significant ecological and carbon sequestration benefits but also provides much-needed employment in local communities, especially for women who otherwise may not have access to work that pays cash.
Verify.
All credits from our projects are rigorously assessed by independent verification bodies to ensure that our project methodologies and underlying assumptions are correct. That means that each carbon credit issued by our projects really does mean that one metric tonne equivalent of carbon dioxide (1 tCO2e) has been removed from the earth’s atmosphere.
Offset.
Project credits may be purchased by a wide range of buyers but we NEVER knowingly sell to organisations involved in the fossil fuel industry and we prefer corporate buyers to have demonstrated a serious commitment to reducing their emissions to Zero over time.
Meet the Team
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Dan Quille
DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS
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Lodrick Mambo
COMMUNITY RELATIONS MANAGER
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Japhet Mwambusi
TECHNICAL FORESTRY AND INNOVATION MANAGER
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Asha Kisega
Community Engagement Manager