The First European-Based Certified Carbon Credits Issued for Afforestation Projects: Aims for 10M Ton Annual Offsetting

The carbon impact hub hold.earth is the first in the EU to receive high-quality carbon credits, known for their stringent standards. The company aims to offset 10 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050 (YOY) through new European afforestation projects and advanced monitoring technologies.

July 18th, 2024. hold.earth, a carbon impact hub that connects projects producing carbon credits with organizations looking to offset their CO2 emissions, has received certification for the first European-based carbon credits from the Open Forest Protocol (OFP), known for its stringent standards. They received carbon credit certification for Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation (ARR) projects, which is extremely rare overall and almost non-existent in Europe. This is great news for businesses looking to meet the high demand for certified EU-based offsets that can also help address the ongoing problem of corporate greenwashing.

Co-founder and CEO of hold.earth, Greta Sidlauskiene shared: “We were able to achieve a rare certification 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.”

Shortage of verified offsets

The carbon offsetting credit system follows a very straightforward logic — every cubic tonne emitted into the environment has to be compensated with an equivalent unit of carbon credit. This can be done either by planting trees or capturing carbon from ocean and coastal ecosystems (so-called blue carbon). But according to Sidlauskiene, there is a drastic shortage of high-quality offsets that genuinely fulfill the promise of true emission compensation. It is this shortage that hold.earth is setting out to address.

“Many companies struggle to provide traceable offset data because the project providers either disappear or, in simple terms, their projects lack verification. Investment in unverifiable offsetting initiatives is effectively a form of greenwashing,” says Greta.

“The current scarcity of verifiable carbon offsets not only underscores the urgent need for credible carbon reduction, but also highlights the critical role of verification processes in ensuring that every tonne of carbon offset purchased is legitimate. We therefore strive to connect businesses looking for high quality offsets with motivated landowners willing to put in the work to meet the OFP’s high-standard certification criteria.”

In order to be certified by the Open Forest Protocol (OFP), a project must have a duration of 40 years or more, with the developer holding rights to the land and carbon credits throughout this period. Eligible projects include Afforestation & Reforestation (A/R) and certain Agroforestry projects, which must not be registered under other GHG/carbon programs. Projects should not be existing forests, involve deforestation, or timber harvesting, and must not be economically viable without carbon financing. Additionally, the certifying body requires projects to plant native species, avoid single-species plantations, and maintain a relatively homogeneous tree distribution across the project area. It can take as long as three years to prepare a project to meet OFP standards, 3 months for project certification and 12 months to generate credits if certain conditions are met.

Satisfying the demand for reliable carbon credits

According to Cate Kelly, head of communications at OFP, there are many bottlenecks in the voluntary carbon market. “High costs and splintered infrastructure have prevented local and vital forestation projects from accessing data validation, carbon credit generation, and market exposure. In the face of these issues, hold.earth and OFP align in our visions to continue scaling forestation from the ground up, with communities at the forefront, by supporting the development of small landowner projects for the purposes of carbon credit generation and digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV).”

According to Sidlauskiene, the allocation of the new ARR credits marks a significant milestone for hold.earth, enabling it to expand into new markets within the voluntary carbon sector by providing clients around the world with certified credits that adhere to the OFP’s high standards.

“We have experienced a continuous rise in afforestation project sales from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, there has been a substantial expansion in the client base that has contributed to a notable increase in revenue (year-over-year growth of 100% from 2022). To support this growth, we will pursue new afforestation projects and advanced monitoring technologies over the next two years. ARR certification is a great achievement for both European landowners and companies looking for high-quality carbon credits in Europe and beyond,” Sidlauskiene explains.

“Our long-term goal is to scale the same rigorous approach to finding and certifying top quality landowner projects across the EU and eventually the US market. As a strategic partner of the OFP, we will help find suitable land in Europe for afforestation and certification, with the aim of reaching 10 million carbon tonne offsets per year by 2050, equating to more than 2 million trees planted per year.”

About hold.earth

hold.earth is a carbon impact hub that connects projects producing high-quality carbon credits with organizations looking to become carbon neutral. They help buyers of carbon offsets maximize their impact in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Founded by financial, as well as sustainability experts, hold.earth holds themselves to the highest quality standards on the market to ensure real impact for the environment.  Learn more by visiting hold.earth