How We Work

HOW WE WORK

We certify and issue high-quality forest carbon credits developed through community-led projects and financed by the voluntary carbon market.

Our rigorous and independent certification processes verify equity, transparency and accountability every step of the way.

Our certification places high requirements to elevate the rights of local forest communities and include:

Equitable and transparent revenue sharing with local communities.
IPLC-endorsed, highest standards for Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
Community leadership and decision-making powers in all carbon projects.
Clear procedures to address and resolve community grievances.

We measure project effectiveness holistically, measuring climate impact alongside social and biodiversity impact requirements. Our carbon measurement standards and impact methodologies are developed in collaboration with leading scientists and experts.

We operate across all three rainforest regions in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Our focus is on the tropical rainforests most at risk of deforestation, in order to help transform them into successful conservation and community development projects led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Three women carrying crops in Mai Ndombe — Filip C. Agoo

What core principles guide our work?

Indigenous Peoples and local communities are at the heart of our work. Stopping deforestation happens on the ground by frontline communities, and forest carbon projects need to work for them. Successful conservation projects are the result of community-led project design and management.

Our standard, methodologies, and the data behind them are public and accessible from the beginning and we conduct our certification process with transparency.

We offer full transparency with project stakeholders in the flow of money to local communities and transparency in project management.

Carbon, Biodiversity, Social, Economic Development. We define the quality of forest carbon projects not just by climate outcomes. Social and biodiversity outcomes must be embedded as key activities in the project design and impact framework. High quality projects are also done in an equitable and inclusive way for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

These outcomes work together in support of the local community’s own self-determined sustainable development goals. Equitable Earth’s certified forest carbon credits are aligned with the UN Goals for Sustainable Development as well as evolving nature positive and ecological benefit frameworks.

Equitable Earth uses world-class science, data, digital and field-based measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) to allocate high integrity baselines and monitor carbon stocks.

We oversee the application of this science and accounting across all projects under our standard, ensuring that all projects meet the same high standard.

We issue forest carbon credits based on the best available data – in partnership with governments, leading scientists and monitoring technology providers.

Our standard is designed for projects to nest into the national forest programs that contribute to global climate commitments. Nesting is necessary to connect project- and country-level carbon accounting.

Our projects are monitored and verified through our carbon project accounting standard and our platform for digital monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) – including high integrity baselines and the monitoring of our forests’ carbon stocks.

Our standard enables payment to local communities for stopping future deforestation (avoided deforestation), restoring degraded forest areas (carbon removal), and stewarding intact forest ecosystems.

Combining these three conservation activities into a single project under one standard acknowledges and incentivizes the conservation cycle and its ultimate goal of advancing a project from the restoration of degraded or damaged ecosystems to the stewardship of stable ecosystems.

Equitable Earth will ensure claims made are in line with best practice emerging from initiatives like VCMI and the principles of the U.S. Biden administration.

Equitable Earth will allow companies to be recognized for their verifiably true contributions without making claims that are misleading or could obscure their decarbonization plans.