Bluesource Enters Agricultural Carbon Market with Partnership That Provides Unmatched Financial Incentives for the Industry.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (February 2, 2021) The U.S.’ refocus on climate change policies is accelerating corporate buyer interest in voluntary marketplaces and immediately scalable, nature-based solutions to capture carbon. A recently formed agricultural carbon initiative has the answer to both and is giving buyers a chance to join the growing space at the ground level. Bluesource®, a leading carbon developer and retailer, has joined forces with Locus Agricultural Solutions® (Locus AG)—an agtech startup known for the success of its CarbonNOW™ program and revenue-accelerating soil “probiotic” technologies. The two companies are working together to financially pair voluntary carbon credit buyers with American farmers to implement farming practices that accelerate atmospheric carbon removal.
For the past 20 years, Bluesource has developed and sold carbon credits representing the removal or avoidance of more than 150M tons of CO2e emissions—the equivalent to negating the emissions of 32.6M passenger vehicles. While the company’s extensive portfolio includes other nature-based solutions, such as forestry and grasslands projects, this is its first entrance into the agricultural carbon space—a decision motivated by the sheer size of the American farming industry, representing an opportunity for carbon removal on a grand scale.
“The U.S. has millions of acres of farmland that can store a large amount of additional carbon in the soil through a combination of sustainable practices and Locus AG’s innovative soil technology,” said Bluesource Vice President Ben Massie.
Bluesource’s alliance with Locus AG is driven by the unrivaled benefits of the company’s award-winning CarbonNOW™ program, which was the first to get a farmer a substantial carbon credit payment. The program is actively recruiting farmers with hundreds of thousands of acres of cropland. Voluntary carbon offset buyers will help these farmers adopt additional sustainable farming practices and diversify their income streams by purchasing carbon credits generated through the program.
“The voluntary buyer market can provide the financial incentive to drive expanded use of these practices and make a substantial impact on our nation’s farmers, our rural communities, and in the climate change fight,” Massie said.
The CarbonNOW program uses a unique two-step approach that first leads farmers through the process of implementing regenerative growing practices and monetizing carbon reductions from them in the form of premium carbon credits. Then, it amplifies their impact by using the only soil technology proven to accelerate atmospheric carbon removal and grow more food. While traditional sustainable growing practices typically capture 0.25-1.0 tons of CO2e per acre, Locus AG’s soil technology can capture an average of 3 more tons of CO2e per acre—increase on-farm profitability.
In addition to supporting one of the country’s most vital industries, Bluesource and Locus AG say CarbonNOW carbon credit purchases can also help buyers meet consumer sustainability demands, fast-track reaching zero carbon commitments and keep them ahead of potential future carbon regulations from the Biden administration and the U.S.’ return to the Paris climate agreement.
“Carbon footprint reduction is becoming a primary focus at all levels of the value chain, from regulatory bodies all the way to the 74% of consumers who are demanding greater transparency,” said Grant Aldridge, CEO of Locus AG. “The CarbonNOW program meets the needs of all parties, providing the most impactful solution to reversing climate change, ensuring food security and improving farmer livelihoods, while exceeding corporate ESG goals.”
Buyers at the forefront of this initiative will have an immediate opportunity to influence its scale and receive exclusive access to the first credits, which will be generated using the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol. For more information on supporting these new projects, visit Bluesource.com.
###
About Bluesource®
Bluesource® is a climate action partner for private and public companies, nonprofit organizations and governments. Bluesource has pioneered creative solutions to the climate crisis since 2001, with deep expertise across environmental technologies and markets. With more than 200 active projects in the United States and Canada, Bluesource is a leader in voluntary, compliance and pre-compliance carbon, renewable energy attribute, renewable natural gas and energy efficiency markets. For six consecutive years, Bluesource has been voted Best Project Developer (North America) and Best Offset Originator (California) by peers and partners in Environmental Finance’s Annual Market Rankings.
About Locus Agricultural Solutions®
Locus Agricultural Solutions® (Locus AG) is an agtech B Corp™ and WBCSD innovator that is helping to solve the interrelated challenges of climate change and food security. Its innovative, award-winning microbial soil “probiotic” technology and CarbonNOW™ program give farmers a new way to boost yields, profit and accelerate carbon sequestration while reducing operating costs and environmental impact. The company’s success has received global recognition, including being named a Top 100 North America Winner by Red Herring, one of the Top New 50 Startups to Watch by Cleantech Group and winner of NREL’s Industry Growth Forum Outstanding Venture Award. Locus AG gets its core scientific capabilities from its parent company, Locus Fermentation Solutions (Locus FS), an Ohio-based, globally recognized green technology company. For more information, visit LocusAG.com