Program receives highest rating of any improved forest management carbon project in the United States publicly rated by BeZero

CONTACT: Kristen Voorhees, Communications Director, media@forestfoundation.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 19, 2024) – This week, the American Forest Foundation (AFF), a nonprofit organization that empowers family forest owners to create meaningful conservation impact, announced its receival of a ‘BBBe’ rating of its improved forest management (IFM) practices by carbon ratings agency BeZero – the highest of the agency’s public ratings of this project type in the United States.

In alignment with its values of accountability and transparency, AFF voluntarily elected to have our flagship Family Forest Carbon Program assessed and rated by BeZero. The program’s ‘BBBe’ rating signifies a moderate likelihood of achieving one tonne of carbon mitigation per carbon credit claim. This is the highest rating of any improved forest management (IFM) carbon project in the United States publicly rated by BeZero. This rating reflects that the project activities through FFCP are highly additional and are not common practice in the project region, and substantial barriers to their uptake exist in the absence of carbon finance provided by the program.

“This rating indicates the caliber of quality baked into the DNA of FFCP’s IFM practices,” said Lynn Riley, lead scientist at AFF. “Not only does this rating signal to corporations that buying credits produced by high-quality projects will help them mitigate their own climate-related risk, but it also means landowners can trust the project they enroll in is a sustainable source of investment in their forests. Our program is designed to address the challenges that face our family forests, their stewards, and the planet. AFF has a steadfast commitment to constantly improving FFCP’s practices to address these challenges as science, technology, and carbon accounting methods evolve.”

Notably, FFCP received an ‘aa’ rating on the project’s additionality, and an ‘a’ rating in permanence, signifying a highly credible approach to baseline-setting through the project’s non-predictive dynamic baseline methodology.

The risk factors that inform our BBBe rating are common challenges that all IFM carbon projects face, including leakage, adverse selection, and project execution and scale. Already, FFCP provides the best-in-class IFM practices in the United States, providing support to rural small-acreage landowners from all walks of life who otherwise would not have access to the financial opportunities of the voluntary carbon market. IFM practices in particular are critical to our country’s woodlands because of the way it drives much-needed financing that equips landowners to sustainably and profitably manage their forests, which increases their health, resilience, biodiversity, and long-term timber production for rural economies.

For more information on how FFCP tackles challenges commonly faced by IFM practices, please see our recent white paper, Catalyzing Forest Carbon Project Quality.

BeZero Carbon is a carbon ratings agency. It equips world-leading organizations with the knowledge, tools and confidence to make better climate decisions. Its aim is to scale investment in environmental markets that deliver a sustainable future. BeZero’s ratings and risk tools help carbon market participants make risk-informed decisions on carbon projects of any type, at any stage, anywhere in the world.

BeZero’s full ratings report of FFCP can be found here.

For more information about the Family Forest Carbon Program, please visit www.familyforestcarbon.org.

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About The American Forest Foundation

The American Forest Foundation is a national conservation organization that empowers family forest owners to make meaningful conservation impact. The organization’s flagship program, the Family Forest Carbon Program, helps landowners implement forest management practices to protect the health of their woodlands and help the planet. To learn more about the American Forest Foundation and the Family Forest Carbon Program, visit www.familyforestcarbon.org.