Carbon Credits for the Global Industrial Hemp Value Chain
Carbon Credits are gaining interest in the industrial hemp marketplace, but not without significant confusion. It’s time to set the record straight. Today, we are discussing what carbon credits are and how they apply to the industrial hemp supply chain.
Carbon credits are generated from verified projects that pull Carbon Dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere. When one tonne of CO2 is avoided or destroyed, one carbon credit is created. The credit is a tradable permit that provides the holder of the credit the right to emit one tonne of CO2. Carbon credits are one-half of cap-and-trade programs, where companies are required to purchase credits if they exceed the regulated cap for CO2. Carbon credits are also purchased to support a company’s voluntary reduction Commitments.
To answer the question: Does industrial hemp qualify for carbon credits? The answer is yes, if you do it right.
As we begin discussing how carbon credits impact the industrial hemp value chain, there are a few important topics to keep in mind:
- Where in the value chain, do we create valid carbon credits?
- The increasing importance of co-benefits.
- How do we execute?
Hemp is scientifically proven to absorb more CO2 per acre than any forest or commercial crop and Hemp is the fastest CO2-to-Biomass conversion tool available. An acre of Hemp has the potential to sequester upwards of 10–30 tonnes of CO2, depending on the number of harvest cycles and overall farming performance.
It starts with the soil and our farming partners. Sustainable farming practices converging with the benefits of a rotational crop with deep roots and superior planting density delivers optimal carbon sequestration in the soil. This is the starting point, but not the end, when generating highly credible carbon credits for our clients and the open market.
Accretive to the creditability of Hemp carbon credits is its co-benefits. Many Credit issuers focus on the co-benefits of a project and Hemp crushes it! From regenerative farming practices that improve biodiversity to local economic boon to removing toxic CO2 intensive materials from end products.
It’s important to know which materials are being replaced by industrial hemp. This allows us to fully calculate the impact of the removal of these materials from products produced by manufacturers today.
At Heartland, our business is replacing toxic fillers that are used in all plastics. These fillers are either mined or synthetic goods that give the plastic certain performance benefits. The main fillers on the market include talc, calcium carbonate, glass fiber, and carbon fiber.
When we remove these toxic fillers from the plastic, we also reduce the amount of plastic required to produce the same volume of plastic (measured in cubic feet). This is why hemp has such great lightweighting capabilities; the same amount of plastic can now weigh less.
Example: If we replace the 20% talc in plastic with 20% hemp, we have removed all the talc and a portion of the plastic required to make the same product. We can now quantify carbon reduction by embedding a carbon-negative material like hemp while removing talc and plastic.
It is important to see the full picture of the impact industrial hemp materials can have on your product because all of this information can translate into extra cash flow for your business.
The last part is to understand how to file for and acquire carbon credits. Anyone can file for these benefits, but this process is designed to be time-consuming and meticulous. You must validate your claims with the information we gathered above and confirm it with a validated third-party entity. This makes it difficult for the everyday farmer to apply for carbon credits and see value from these resources.
Most industrial hemp companies will not take the time to understand these numbers. Even less will create the structure required to ensure farmers qualify to receive revenue from carbon credits.
“At Heartland, we embrace the opportunity to lead the realization of verified carbon credits generated in the industrial hemp supply chain.” Said Eric Austermann, Chief Sustainability Officer of Heartland.
The Heartland team believes that access to this revenue stream is an important part of our value chain. We have centralized the complex procedures necessary to begin quantifying our entire supply chain so Heartland farmers and clients can reap the benefits of carbon credits.
Heartland’s network of farmers will have an additional revenue stream on top of their fiber and grain harvests because we spent the time to get the job done right.
Heartland’s clients and partners will have access to carbon credits that no other raw material suppliers could provide.
Carbon credits are the tool we will use to quantify our ability to become the most sustainable company on the planet.
Join us as we build a world out of hemp.
— Heartland Team