NEW YORK (News release) -- The BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (BTG Pactual TIG) announced a long-term contract with Meta for the delivery of 1.3 million nature-based carbon removal credits, with options for delivery of an additional 2.6 million nature-based carbon removal credits, through 2038 as part of its Latin America reforestation strategy, which is designed to support climate change mitigation alongside benefits for biodiversity and communities.

This deal - one of the largest of its kind - marks Meta's first significant engagement in carbon removal in Brazil. The credits will be delivered from BTG Pactual TIG's $1 billion reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America, for which Conservation International serves as Impact Adviser to ensure the strategy enhances biodiversity and supports inclusive and equitable community development.

The strategy focuses on the conservation, restoration, and planting of deforested and degraded properties in selected regions in Latin America. This includes the Cerrado biome in Brazil, one of the most biodiverse seasonally dry ecosystems in the world. Approximately half of the Cerrado's land has already been converted to other uses, and the biome continues to face high rates of deforestation. The strategy also focuses on delivering community benefits through increased rural employment, rural community development, and the development of the bioeconomy.

"BTG Pactual TIG and Conservation International, in their visionary collaboration, are setting a new bar for how sustainable forestry operations can deliver restoration of degraded land, while providing important economic opportunities for local communities," said Blair Swedeen, Global Head of Net Zero and Sustainability at Meta. "We are proud to support the bold impact strategy that TIG and CI have developed, which aligns with our own goals for our net zero program and for carbon markets broadly."

"The due diligence, thought leadership and technology that Meta has brought to this transaction has been extraordinary. The team has developed a clear and rigorous approach to carbon removal, and we are extremely pleased to help support their ambition on this front. Meta is among a small group of companies that have pressed forward to develop an approach that will not only underpin the integrity of its own efforts, but support the development of a high-quality carbon market more broadly," said Mark Wishnie, Chief Sustainability Officer of BTG Pactual TIG and head of the firm's reforestation strategy.

"With this investment, Meta is sending a message to the rest of the private sector: a sustainable future need not be austere; it can be abundant. We commend Meta for their leadership, including their commitment to improving measurement of forest cover, which is crucial for carbon market integrity," said Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International. "BTG Pactual TIG continues to prove that forest restoration can be a boon to both the environment and local communities. The success of this initiative is evidence that economic production and environmental protection can be mutually reinforcing, rather than mutually exclusive."

With Conservation International's support, BTG Pactual TIG's strategy aims to protect and restore approximately 135,000 hectares (more than 330,000 acres) of natural forests in deforested landscapes. The strategy also seeks to plant millions of trees in sustainably managed commercial tree farms, independently certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)™ standards, on another approximately 135,000 hectares of previously deforested and degraded land.

To date, BTG Pactual TIG has invested in 37,000 hectares, planted more than 7 million seedlings, and initiated restoration of approximately 2,600 hectares of natural forest. More than 300 plant and animal species have been identified on the strategy's first investment, where a new 400-meter-wide riparian buffer is expected to create a nearly 5-kilometer corridor to a large neighboring natural forest, ultimately connecting nearly 10,000 hectares of natural habitat.

The generation of carbon credits forms part of the reforestation strategy's climate impact, in addition to managing the tree farms on long rotations to store more carbon and produce large diameter logs that can be used for long-lived products. The carbon projects, which have not yet been registered, will seek to meet or exceed leading carbon accounting standards.

This transaction represents the execution, in part, of Meta's carbon removal strategy. Key elements of Meta's strategy include:

• a rigorous assessment of the role of carbon finance in supporting ecosystem restoration together with leading consultancy Carbon Direct;
• the application of Meta's AI and advanced computing resources to develop new tools for monitoring terrestrial biomass, including an open source, global map of tree canopy heights launched with World Resources Institute; and
• support of the expansion of the voluntary carbon market toward high-quality, nature-based carbon removal projects, including via advance market commitments such as the Symbiosis Coalition.

Meta is making its forest monitoring technology available to help establish a rigorous baseline of existing forest cover for BTG Pactual TIG's Latin America reforestation strategy. This includes Meta's work with World Resources Institute to map tree canopy height at a 1-meter resolution, allowing the detection of single trees at a global scale. All canopy height data and AI models are free and publicly available, including those used for this deal.

The transaction is part of Meta's commitment to reaching net zero emissions across its value chain in 2030, which will largely be achieved by reducing corporate emissions. It will address any residual emissions through carbon removal, including a range of both natural and technological approaches. Forest-based carbon removal and the use of technology to better monitor, report, and verify the carbon sequestration is an essential component of Meta's carbon removal strategy.

The deal also reflects Meta's commitment to delivering social impact in the carbon removal projects it supports in addition to climate and biodiversity benefits. Beyond creating new local jobs through its investment activities, BTG Pactual TIG is supporting training for local communities for opportunities to generate new income from nature-based activities in the emerging bioeconomy, such as honey production that can be supported, in part, by newly restored forests. In September 2023, BTG Pactual TIG collaborated with the Mato Grosso do Sul Native Seed Network to provide native tree seed collection training for nearby community members. Seed collection can provide new sources of income by supplying a growing restoration market.