According to ESG Today, Texas-based Grassroots Carbon is a startup founded in 2021 as per the merging of grazing management software company PastureMap and carbon credit aggregator Soil Value Exchange. The company collaborates with ranches country-wide and rewards them for capturing and storing CO2 emissions through growing grazing areas and then connects the managers with companies willing to purchase certified carbon credits to offset their emissions.
Officials at Grassroots Carbon explain that using soil-based carbon capture solutions has multiple advantages, besides just getting rid of CO2 emissions. They also help preserve the health of the soil, prevent erosion and improve water retention.
Brad Tipper, CEO of Grassroots Carbon, said that "Soil carbon storage is an essential part of the climate solution and our regenerative ranchers are trusted partners in that solution. Microsoft not only made a choice to reduce atmospheric carbon levels, but to do so with impacts far beyond just carbon."
Microsoft is already invested in carbon removal projects, such as those based on biochar, but this marks the first deal the company struck for carbon credits generated from managing grasslands.
Phil Goodman, Director, Carbon Removal Portfolio at Microsoft, said that "supporting high-quality soil carbon credit solutions is part of Microsoft’s carbon removal strategy. This project with Grassroots Carbon utilizes PastureMap, a measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) software that improves grassland management in the US by incentivizing ranchers’ transition to rotational grazing."
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