Advancing Soil
Carbon Science

To unlock agriculture as a climate solution, we’ve set out to create the highest quality ag carbon program, backed by rigorous science and certification.

High-quality ag soil carbon credits are being generated by following rigorous, scientifically robust protocols

Carbon by Indigo leverages third-party protocols from leading global registries – the Climate Action Reserve and Verra – enabling global scale.

Registry-Issued

Project methodologies supporting, data and reports undergo rigorous third-party verification prior to every credit issuance

Real

Credits are generated through complete, accurate, and thorough accounting methods. Quantification includes various sources and sinks and accounts for potential carbon leakage and uncertainty. Data are monitored and verified over time.

Additional

The credit represents GHG reductions that would not have happened without the incentive provided by the carbon market. In other words, land management practices must not be “business as usual.”

Permanent

Soil carbon stocks are permanently increased over a baseline, assessed over 100 years, and secured through ongoing monitoring and programmatic mechanisms such as an insurance buffer pool of credits.

Uniquely Claimed

Credits are assets that are owned by one entity at a time from creation through to retirement.

Co-benefits

Projects include environmental safeguards and provide co-benefits to the communities in which they are generated.

Producing quality agricultural carbon credits

Carbon by Indigo generates the first registry issued, third-party verified agricultural carbon credits using direct soil sampling and advanced modeling at an unprecedented scale.

Data transparency builds the credibility and value of the credits.

These credits are generated using the Soil Enrichment Protocol developed and adopted by the Climate Action Reserve, with participation from Indigo’s team of leading scientists, policy experts, and technologists. Carbon by Indigo’s agricultural soil carbon credits are considered the highest quality because net changes in greenhouse gasses are credited following MRV, or “monitoring, reporting, and verification,” which adheres to IPCC guidelines and best practices.

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Hear from Our Partners

We built Airly with a mission to reverse climate change through food, acknowledging that's an audacious goal, but we are fundamentally driven by the fact that agriculture has a big role to play in that overall solution. As you get out into the market and you start to demonstrate the consumer demand, a lot more people start jumping in.

Jennifer McKnight | Co-Founder, Airly Foods, Post Holdings

We will not squeeze carbon out of the global economy if we don't have a huge investment in carbon credits. It simply isn't going to happen and carbon credits are a great tool to provide a financial incentive, to target a lot of those areas that might be difficult to target from a public policy perspective, but we can make it happen. And it also buys us time. Time that we frankly don't have to address this problem.

Craig Ebert | President, Climate Action Reserve

We really need to start treating agriculture and food production in this country more like a long-term investment and less like borrowing and lending. You have to give the capital a chance to grow.

Zach Ducheneaux | Administrator, USDA Farm Service Agency

The ability to sell carbon as a new crop ... it's going to fundamentally change what we do on the farm. We'll get paid for something other than yield

Ben Riensche | Partner, Blue Diamond Farms, Iowa

This is better farming. Some of the world’s largest companies have a million farms in their supply chains and are facing a world in which climate is becoming more disruptive, less predictive rainfall, water shortages, too much water—all those factors that are making it more difficult to be a farmer today. These companies are looking for exactly that type of agriculture that is going to create more resilience.

Paul Hawken | Author of Drawdown and Regeneration, Business Strategist, Journalist

Advancing the Adoption of Soil Carbon Science

Updates from our in-house team of experts and partners in science and policy.

Featured

The world's first registry-issued ag carbon credits at scale have arrived

For the first time, registry-issued ag carbon credits were generated at scale, produced by farmers, backed by rigorous science and with investments from leading corporations.

Latest articles

Peer Review Study Shows How High-Quality Carbon Credits, Paired with Grower Incentives Play a Role in Addressing Climate Change A Major Milestone for Measuring the Climate Benefit of Agriculture How Soil Can Help Solve Our Climate Problem Taking Collective Action, Featuring CEO of Moderna Stéphane Bancel Report: Cultivating a Rich Ecosystem of Natural Climate Solutions

Carbon Experimentation field research provides a foundational dataset and case studies that keep Carbon by Indigo on the forefront of science

Indigo’s Carbon Experimentation team launched fall sampling in September 2021 for year 3 of the long-term study, the Soil Carbon Experiment (SCX).

During year 3, we are re-sampling over 100 fields currently enrolled in SCX and will perform initial sampling on new fields joining the program – gathering data on soil organic carbon, bulk density, soil health, and other measures on soil samples, including some down to a 1-m depth. These samples come from a mix of regeneratively and conventionally managed fields – including a subset of split-field trials with both management systems.

SCX data and case studies help Indigo: understand credit generation potential, minimize grower data burden, and improve unit economics.

Interested in Advancing the Science and Policy With Us?

Get in touch with our team to begin the conversation.

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Carbon by Indigo For Farmers

Carbon by Indigo For Supporting Companies

See the Progress Made So Far

Indigo Carbon Projects

Project Name

Project ID

Crediting Program

Protocol / Methodology

Location(s)

Starting Year

Total Credits Registered

Indigo U.S. Project No. 1

CAR1459

Climate Action Reserve

Soil Enrichment Protocol

United States

2018

22,225

Indigo Ag EU Project No.1

3213

VCS (Verra)

VM0042

Northern Europe

TBD

Project Name

Indigo U.S. Project No. 1

Project ID

CAR1459

Crediting Program

Climate Action Reserve

Protocol / Methodology

Soil Enrichment Protocol

Location(s)

United States

Project Name

Indigo Ag EU Project No.1

Project ID

3213

Crediting Program

VCS (Verra)

Protocol / Methodology

VM0042

Location(s)

Northern Europe

By Geoffrey von Maltzahn Today, we’re excited to announce Indigo’s acquisition of TellusLabs, a satellite imaging and artificial intelligence company based out of Somerville,...

Blog

September 12, 2018

Yield Differences So Large You Can See Them From Outer Space

By Geoffrey von Maltzahn When evaluating products, growers trust the results they see with their own eyes. The benefit of a different seed variety, irrigation system,...

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