A Carbon Buyers Guide to the AFF Data Room

At the American Forest Foundation (AFF), we value our buyers as long-term partners in our collective work to mitigate the impacts of climate change. As we enter into five, ten, even fifteen-year agreements with carbon credit buyers, we want to ensure they understand our commitment to integrity and all the programmatic and technical details that go into developing the Family Forest Carbon Program. To help buyers make a more informed decision about their long-term investment, AFF aims to be radically transparent in the data and information we provide about our program. That’s why as part of the first American Forest Foundation Carbon Auction, we are opening up all due diligence materials to buyers in a new centralized and easy-to-use Data Room. 

To participate in the American Forest Foundation Carbon Auction and begin accessing the Data Room, companies can register at affauction.org

Through the Data Room, buyers will have access to all the technical, programmatic, financial, and commercial information they need for a streamlined initial desktop due diligence ahead of the auction on March 12-19.  Instead of buyers and developers going back and forth to collect information bilaterally, which significantly slows down the transaction process, the data room allows for the most critical project information to be housed in one central place. With all of this information in their hands, buyers will now have greater confidence and visibility into their investment. 

We also recognize there may be additional data or information required by buyers within their own unique procurement process. If there’s something that is not in the data room that buyers need, our team is ready to work with them to get it. And there will be additional time for deeper due diligence, including site visits, additional data share, and more, after auction bidding closes.  

Data Room Breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of just some of the documents you will find in the Data Room.  

Program & Practice Information: 

• Overview on the Family Forest Carbon Program  

• Program Metrics  

• Practice Descriptions 

• Our Approach to Stakeholder Engagement  

• A Sample Landowner Agreement & Contract 

• A Slide Deck to help you walk internal stakeholders through your investment 

Technical & Science Documentation: 

• VM0045 Methodology Summary 

• Our Approach to Additionality, Leakage, and Permanence  

• Draft Project Design Descriptions 

• Shapefiles 

• Carbon Gains Model 

• Adaptive Management Plan 

• Ratings Reports 

Commercial & Partnership Terms 

• Term Sheet & Bidding Variables 

• Bid Ranking Criteria 

• Draft Contract 

• Program Cost Breakdown 

• Audited Financials 

Bidding Logistics: 

• Auction Timeline 

• Data Room Instructions & FAQ 

• Bid example 

To participate in the American Forest Foundation Carbon Auction and access the Data Room, companies can register at affauction.org. To maximize the full eight-week due diligence period ahead of the auction on March 12-19, we recommend registering today!

 After you gain access to the data room, we are ready and willing to answer any questions that come up as you assess the FFCP and begin your due diligence process. Please email menglish@forestfoundation.org with your thoughts, questions and feedback. We’d love to hear from you!