Let's Talk About Additionality

Accelerating the speed of trust in nature-based solutions

What's wrong with nature-based solutions for climate change? Additionality. Many carbon projects in the market used rough estimates years ago to find threatened forests to protect. With AI and satellites, we've learned that many of these forests weren't threatened or couldn't be protected. Upstream Carbon gives you AI with unprecedented transparency to find threatened forests and directly fund their protection. With Upstream Carbon, intervene with precision and confidence.

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A map depicting the opportunity cost of deforestation in the northeast US in terms of CO2 equivalent by 2050.
A map depicting the opportunity cost of deforestation in the northeast US in terms of CO2 equivalent by 2050.

This is Not MRV

Amazing companies are applying cutting-edge techniques to satellite imagery to analyze existing carbon projects. We're partnering with them to review our projects, too. We love what they're doing and will recommend great partners for your MRV needs because we don't review existing carbon projects - we source new ones.

These new campaigns protect forests at the frontier of suburban sprawl

Infographic of 1 gigaton of carbon emissions saved and removed through forest protection, highlighting the critical role of forest growth in achieving net-zero goals and the adverse impacts of deforestation on our planet's climate balance.Graph detailing the significant financial cost of global engineered carbon removal (CDR) methods needed to replace annual carbon drawdown provided by at-risk U.S. forests, emphasizing the economic and environmental advantages of forest conservation.Visual comparison of the substantial expense required by 2037 to address the accumulated atmospheric carbon debt versus the cost-effective potential of natural forest preservation and engineered carbon removal (CDR) solutions, underscoring the urgency of strategic climate interventions and the value of long-term planning.Infographic illustrating the staggering $140 billion expense of utilizing engineered carbon removal (CDR) techniques to recover the gigaton of emissions that threatened forests could naturally capture between now and 2050, emphasizing the economic and ecological imperative of forest conservation prior to investment in CDR at scale.Graphical representation showcasing the cost-effective investment of $30 per metric ton for forest carbon projects today, highlighting the affordable and immediate benefits of forest conservation in contrast to more expensive engineered carbon removal (CDR) alternatives, and underlining the value of prioritizing natural solutions in our climate strategy.
Forest carbon estimates from EPA and Clark University. More on the methodology here
Engineered CDR estimates calculated from Oxford University’s 2022 State of CDR

Sustainable Land Use - Or Business as Usual?

Our campaigns to protect forests measure ACREs: Avoided Conversion of at-Risk Ecosystems. Credits our programs generate fit within existing methodologies and are currently undergoing validation. How do you implement an ACREs campaign? Start by finding at-risk ecosystems.

Additionality » Deforestation Threat

Property values are strongly correlated with real estate development. The forests facing the highest threats are usually the most valuable properties, and the forests facing the lowest threats are usually the cheapest. With transparency into conservation costs, you can tailor your offset strategy to your preferred balance between tons, cost, impact, and location.

Sign showing land for sale with plants in the background.

Permanence » Conservation Length

In order to pay landowners to forego market value forever, you might have to pay them market value. You get price transparency about what landowners will take to forego development rights for 20 years, 40 years, or 100 years, or in perpetuity.

Image representing permanence with an mature, old-growth tree - the sign of a healthy, mature forest with high soil organic carbon.

Leakage » Location

The current scope of ACREs campaigns is in the US. Why? Recent research by Harvard Forest found US-based conservation easement programs, our preferred protection method, are unlikely to produce measurable spillover effects (and may even spur additional conservation), The future of our landscape is a race. Action is contagious.

Map of carbon and land value estimator assessing the deforestation risk at the property level in New England.
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Protect forests that best match your goals

Illustrative design of a map of suburban and urban forests, with images of trees representing carbon pools and colors representing threats of deforestation facing each property. Properties protected by conservation easements are colored dark green.Illustrative design of a map of suburban and urban forests, with images of trees representing carbon pools and colors representing threats of deforestation facing each property. Properties protected by conservation easements are colored dark green.Illustrative design of a map of suburban and urban forests, with images of trees representing carbon pools and colors representing threats of deforestation facing each property. Properties selected for protection have dark green borders.Illustrative design of a map of suburban and urban forests, with images of trees representing carbon pools and colors representing threats of deforestation facing each property. Properties selected for protection have dark green borders.Mock-up design of a map of suburban and urban forests, with images of trees representing carbon pools and colors representing threats of deforestation facing each property.

Science-Based Training ingredients (SBTi)

Forest Inventory Data

We derive 30-meter aboveground biomass and carbon flux estimates from the National Forest Carbon Monitoring System, accessible though Oak Ridge National Labs. We combine with the most recent measurements from National Land Cover Database, an industry-standard practice. It's not secret sauce - it's the same source data and similar methods that The Nature Conservancy uses for their carbon estimates in resilient landscape monitoring.

Parcel Data

We process tax assessor parcels and property ownership data from government and third party sources to create standardized land use classifications and human-readable features describing property characteristics. This [jargon] helps our users easily understand the specific factors driving risk of deforestation in any given parcel on the map.

Data Processing, Sampling, and ML Magic

You didn't think we'd post exactly how we made our ensemble models on our website, did you? Contact us to learn more. We're happy to share and hear suggestions to improve!

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What are you waiting for?

In the time you took to read though the text above, 146 Metric Tons of CO2 (30 cars on the road for a year)
were emitted from Land Converted to Settlements in the US, based on historical EPA estimates.

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