Symbiosis consists of: 

• Action-oriented volume commitment - Commitment by members to sign long-term offtake agreements for a specific volume of credits by 2030 to spur the development of new projects.

• Unified quality criteria - A single, trusted quality standard for projects that includes the most current and rigorous science and data, builds on existing standards, is informed by independent experts, and is updated as science, data, and best practices evolve. 

• Joint RFP - Joint RFP(s) to simplify procurement for buyers and developers and help translate Symbiosis volume commitments into action.

• Market development - Strategic engagement and education with project developers, investors, and key stakeholders to grow the project pipeline and catalyze additional capital.

Symbiosis assesses and chooses which projects progress through diligence based on the following aspects of the RFP submission: 

1. Project quality: alignment with Symbiosis’ Quality Criteria 

2. Ability to Execute: the developer’s ability to execute and deliver the expected carbon removals over the project lifetime, particularly focusing on execution and delivery within the 10-year offtake timeline. This includes the developer’s demonstration through a well-established pilot of an ability to scale-up project operations and implement the necessary activities to support future deliveries and durability.

3. Commercial proposal/readiness: price, volume, developer and partner experience, proponent and project capitalization, and other key commercial elements are important.

Projects that successfully progress through diligence and are recommended by Symbiosis for offtake will be considered to ultimately enter into an agreement directly with individual coalition members that have selected the project.

Symbiosis is guided by the latest science, data and best practice. We aim to take a conservative approach, to focus on certainty of durable climate impact and equitable engagement of all relevant stakeholders, to rigorously monitor and evaluate whether projects are achieving their intended impact, and to transparently share lessons learned. Symbiosis developed overarching quality pillars and specific quality criteria for reforestation (terrestrial and mangrove) and agroforestry projects, to guide applicants to our RFP and the broader market. The Coalition will continue to update these over time as science, data, and best practice evolves. 

Our updated quality criteria reflect input and approval from our Technical Advisory Board, as well as feedback from experts from across academia, NGOs, and the private sector. The criteria build upon existing frameworks, such as the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles and established market labels and standards.

We have designed the Quality Criteria to be high-level and durable, reserving changes to the criteria themselves for major advances in science or standards. More granular and evolving technical guidance can be found in our Developer Checklists and other supporting technical documentation which spell out the specific evidence and documentation we look for when evaluating projects — such as using a dynamic baseline, and approaches to reliably and scalably accounting for allochthonous carbon in mangroves. This allows us to ground our diligence in the latest data, evidence, and methods for the specific project context (including geography) without repeatedly redefining the criteria developers rely on.

All the most up-to-date information can be found on the Symbiosis website.

Yes! Symbiosis Coalition is open to nature-based carbon removal carbon credit buyers from different industries and geographies who retire credits on their own behalf and predominantly play a role as an end buyer in the carbon market ecosystem. 

Our current membership criteria are: 

• Publicly commit to science-based, quantified, and independently verified decarbonization targets by 2050, consistent with limiting warming in line with the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.

• Publicly report a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. 

• Are willing to commit to purchase high-quality, nature-based carbon removals that meet the Symbiosis Quality Criteria and are willing to pay the true cost for those removals.

• Are willing to sign long-term forward agreements.

• Are willing to transparently share lessons learned through participation in Symbiosis.

• Are willing to learn and share best practices with other stakeholders.

We understand that different buyers are willing to sign different contract lengths. In order to be catalytic for the market and attract follow-on financing, we currently expect buyers who join Symbiosis to be open to signing 10-year contracts (e.g. 2026-2036 for a contract signed in 2026) with the option to sign long-term contracts on a project by project basis. However, we may be able to accommodate members signing shorter-term offtakes and can work with prospective members around their requirements for delivery timing as needed.

Yes, members have programs and commitments that go beyond Symbiosis Coalition. In addition, members can count credits procured from outside Symbiosis towards their volume commitments in addition to credits procured via the Symbiosis RFP as long as any externally-sourced credits meet the Symbiosis quality criteria.

Email us at buyers@symbiosiscoalition.org to learn more about how to join!

We plan to source credits from projects that align with the Symbiosis Quality Criteria and are ready to enter into a commercial offtake. Eligible projects will have the following features:

• Project type: Reforestation, agroforestry, and mangrove only

• Stage: An advanced draft or final PDD

• Project Activities: (details in following FAQs)

Reforestation and Agroforestry

Active reforestation / restoration for conservation only

Active reforestation / restoration with timber production component

Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR)

Agroforestry

Silvopasture

Mangrove

Mangrove assisted natural regeneration: addressing non-hydrological stressors

Mangrove assisted natural regeneration: hydrological improvement

Mangrove active restoration

Mangrove active restoration with hydrological improvement

Mixed intervention

• Project location: Any country/region except US State Department Level 4 (details in following FAQs)

• ICVCM approved standard (and ICVCM approved methodology for Reforestation and Agroforestry)

• Minimum volume of 100,000 tons offered for Symbiosis offtake over a 10 year offtake period, with priority given to larger projects 

• Completed pilot planting that represent at least 2% of the total of each intervention type planned for the project (e.g., if the project includes 2000 ha of agroforestry and 500 hectares of ANR, then the pilot planting should be at least 40 ha of agroforestry and 10 ha of ANR)

• A dynamic baseline (we may consider exceptions for mangroves on a case by case basis)

• Documentation as outlined in Readiness Checklist

If you have questions about your project’s eligibility, we suggest that you register on our RFP platform, as you can fill out a quick assessment to assess your eligibility instantly.

The following list of project activities are eligible for Reforestation and Agroforestry: 

1. Active reforestation/restoration for conservation only: active restoration activities involving site preparation and tree planting with the primary objective of ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation. Trees are intended to remain permanently unharvested, with the goal of recovering the structure, composition, and function of the reference natural ecosystem

2. Active reforestation/restoration with timber production component: active restoration involving site preparation and tree planting where a defined portion of the forest area or species mix is allocated for future timber harvesting, while the remaining area is managed for long-term forest cover. Harvesting is typically selective, rotational, or spatially zoned 

3. Assisted Natural Regeneration: passive restoration and/or conservation of secondary forests. Passive or minimally active restoration focused on facilitating the natural recovery of secondary forests by reducing barriers to regeneration. Interventions may include protection from fire, grazing, or encroachment; invasive species control; and enrichment planting where natural seed sources are limited

4. Agroforestry: establishment of trees and shrubs in combination with crops, livestock, or both within a farm system, with the general goal to provide non-timber forest products. These interventions can include dispersed or intercropped trees (land-sharing) or on-farm agricultural intensification on specific areas to enable reforestation in others (land-sparing)

5. Silvopasture: integrates trees with managed pasture and livestock systems. Trees may be planted or naturally regenerated and are spatially arranged to enhance animal welfare, pasture productivity, and ecosystem services

6. Mixed intervention: a mixture of the categories 2-6 above. 

Afforestation is not eligible for Symbiosis offtake. We defined Afforestation as the artificial establishment of forests or tree plantations on lands which previously did not support natural forest ecosystems--defined as woody vegetation with a height of at least 5 meters and a canopy density of at least 20-25% at 30 meters, existing until 50 years ago.

The following list of project activities are eligible for Mangroves: 

1. Mangrove assisted natural regeneration – addressing non-hydrological stressors: Facilitation of natural mangrove regeneration by removing or mitigating non-hydrological stressors, such as grazing, wood harvesting, pollution, or physical disturbance, without changes in current hydrological conditions.

2. Mangrove assisted natural regeneration – hydrological improvement: Assisted natural regeneration combined with targeted hydrological interventions—such as restoring tidal connectivity or removing barriers to water flow—to re-establish conditions necessary for natural mangrove recruitment and growth.

3. Mangrove active restoration: Active restoration involving site preparation and planting of mangrove propagules or seedlings, typically where natural regeneration potential is insufficient due to limited seed sources or severe degradation. No hydrological improvements.

4. Mangrove active restoration with hydrological improvement: similar to the previous category but with additional project activities on hydrological restoration

The RFP is open to projects in all geographies, with the exception of countries or regions within countries listed by the US State Department as Level 4: Do Not Travel. Projects must also meet the Symbiosis quality criterion #11: “Projects should occur in ecoregions or biomes where forest or mangrove cover is ecologically suitable, tradeoffs with water availability do not adversely influence nearby communities, and albedo and other biophysical changes do not considerably negate carbon removal benefits.” In addition, we will prioritize projects in regions with high potential for ecological restoration and biodiversity impact, and also take into consideration potential regulatory or geopolitical impacts on project risk and durability. 

We expect that the organization applying to the RFP is the entity that will be able to contract with member buyers for the long-term offtake of carbon credits from the project.

Projects with an offtake size greater than 100,000 tonnes offered to Symbiosis over a 10 year offtake period may apply. Given the cost of diligence and contracting, we anticipate prioritizing projects with the potential to offer approximately 500,000 tonnes of carbon removal over 10 years at their full-scale expansion. We will also consider smaller projects of exceptional quality.

No, you don’t need to have project financing ready to deploy ahead of applying to the RFP. However, the RFP will prioritize projects that can demonstrate that they are in advanced conversations with investors, and we will expect to see the terms of any required financing firmed in parallel to the Symbiosis term sheet negotiations. We recommend that you begin conversations with investors early in the process so that you have a sense of potential financing sources and cost of capital as part of your RFP submission. You can find a list of investors who are interested in financing Symbiosis projects here for reference. Project developers are free to contact other investors beyond this list.

All project submissions should be prepared to submit the documentation listed and described in our Readiness Checklist. All submissions should include: 

1. Project boundaries

2. Project Design Document

3. Restoration Implementation Plan

4. Carbon Model and coversheet 

5. Financial Model and coversheet

If a project is selected to move to intermediate diligence, the following additional documents will be requested:

6. Evidence of Land Access & Applicable Authorizations (e.g. carbon rights)

7. Baseline Assessment and Additionality Tests

8. Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Benefit-Sharing Plan

9. Long-Term Carbon Monitoring Plan (MRV – Carbon)

10. MRV Plan – Other Impact

11. Risk Assessment and Long-Term Management Plan

You do not need to be a VM0047 project with ABACUS and CCB labels to apply. We require alignment or consistency with the principles of the ABACUS, and CCB labels, but this consistency can be demonstrated without certification through Verra. We will evaluate and consider projects from reforestation / restoration methodologies from standards that have been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principle (CCP) assessment framework. Similarly, for mangrove restoration projects, you do not need to be a VM0033 project with a CCB label to apply. We require alignment or consistency with the principles in: 

• The ‘best information, interventions and carbon accounting’ section in the High-Quality Blue Carbon Principles and Guidance

• Section 3.1 of the High-Quality Blue Carbon Practitioners Guide 2024 (version 1.0) and 

• the CCB standard. 

Methodologies from standards that have been approved by the ICVCM as of the publishing of this FAQ include the following:

Terrestrial Reforestation and Agroforestry Projects:

• VCS VM0047 methodology

• Isometric Reforestation Protocol and Agroforestry Protocol

• Equitable Earth (previously ERS) M001

• Gold Standard*

• American Carbon Registry*
  

Mangrove Restoration Projects:

• VCS VM0033 methodology

• Isometric Mangrove Restoration protocol

• VCS VM007 methodology*

• Gold Standard Sustainable Mangrove Management methodology*

• Climate Action Reserve’s Mexico Forest Protocol*
  

We will continue to update this list to reflect the latest submissions to ICVCM for consideration. Note that for reforestation and agroforestry both standard and methodology must be approved by the ICVCM ahead of the Symbiosis contracting stage. For mangroves, only the standard must be approved at this time. 

* Note on dynamic baselines: Projects using methodologies marked with an asterisk (*) should be aware that Symbiosis requires that projects use a dynamic baseline built on statistically matched control plots and/or properties. If the methodology is CCP-eligible but does not meet this Symbiosis requirement, the project proponent will have to develop and use a dynamic baseline based on statistically matched control plots. We will require the establishment of a dynamic baseline and the associated projected deductions before your project can be advanced in our assessment process. 

All mangrove projects must use a dynamic baseline unless they can thoroughly and conclusively demonstrate that: (1) the initial or pre-project state of degradation is such that, without carbon finance, natural regeneration of mangrove ecosystems is highly unlikely within the next 10 years; and/or (2) it is not possible to find suitable donor pool areas for a sufficient number of matched control plots.

Keep in mind that adherence to one of these methodologies alone is not sufficient to qualify for the Symbiosis Coalition offtake. Successful projects need to meet the Symbiosis quality criteria which go above and beyond these standards.  

We recognize that reforestation and restoration activities can exist in landscapes where multiple project activities are taking place, including avoided deforestation projects. As of now, we expect to focus on reforestation and agroforestry only methodologies, including those that allow conservation and management activities to facilitate forest growth. We may consider developing guidance for other removals components of projects under REDD+ or IFM methodologies in the future.

The RFP readiness checklist provides further details regarding the kinds of documentation accepted and level of proof required. In general, projects need to demonstrate clear rights for the proponent to implement, manage, and maintain the project. The acceptable types of title (customary, contractual, delegated or other) and documentation – including deeds, registry entries, contracts and community bylaws – can be diverse.

Mangroves exist in a unique, dynamic coastal environment. They are called out within the Quality Criteria because their carbon pools, greenhouse gas fluxes, restoration pathways, permanence risks, and governance contexts differ fundamentally from terrestrial ARR systems. The Quality Criteria reflect that the fundamental principles apply across ecosystems while reflecting the nuances of particular project types.

In mangrove ecosystems, the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool plays a particularly important role when it comes to GHG accounting. In some situations, carbon removals due to SOC accumulation can exceed removals in the above ground and below ground biomass carbon pools. Because of this, the mangrove-specific criteria include additional requirements to ensure that carbon removals in the SOC pool are accurately and conservatively accounted for. These include a requirement to monitor SOC accumulation in-situ, factoring in variability in sediment dynamics, and ensure that allochthonous carbon is excluded from project accounting. Allochthonous carbon is organic carbon that has been transported from elsewhere and deposited within the project area.

Due to the waterlogged nature of tidal wetlands, emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) can potentially be significant in mangroves. Such fluxes depend on salinity and hydrological connectivity and must be assessed explicitly.

In many areas, mangroves have been degraded due to changes in hydrology, such as through the development of aquaculture ponds. Therefore, the quality criteria have a structured preference for hydrological restoration and natural regeneration, with planting treated as a last resort and/or strategic targeted intervention, unlike many ARR projects where planting is central.

Mangroves sit in coastal zones with overlapping marine, forestry, and land governance, often involving state ownership, customary rights, and unclear jurisdiction. As a result, mangrove projects are required to be more explicit in their land tenure clarifications and adapt their stakeholder engagement and FPIC processes to coastal and fisheries‑dependent communities.

Due to their location in the coastal zone, mangroves can be more at risk of loss due to sea level rise compared to terrestrial forest ecosystems. Therefore, mangrove projects are explicitly required to model the threat of sea level rise to the durability of carbon removals, factoring in sediment dynamics and local geological processes, using ‘worst case’ sea level rise prediction models.

Yes, you may still apply to the RFP.

Symbiosis Coalition is focused on nature-based carbon removal projects and will only count the removal portions of these projects towards the Symbiosis volume commitment. We acknowledge that nature-based solution pathways often result in avoided emissions/emissions reductions as well as removals and that both emissions reductions and removals are both critical to climate action.

Mangrove ecosystems restoration activities generally account for emission reductions from activities that avoid soil organic carbon loss and reduce methane/nitrous oxide emissions. While the mangrove criteria require the consideration of GHG emissions, at this moment we only consider credits generated from carbon removals for our offtake, and not from emission reductions. That said, we still ask project proponents to share with Symbiosis the proportion of credits that are generated from avoided emissions, as this is valuable information that helps us inform our quality strategy, and better understand the context of each project.

Symbiosis members may choose to include the avoided emissions aspects of projects in their project volume allocation but these will not count towards their Symbiosis volume commitment.

Generally speaking, contracts will be a forward commitment to pay for tonnes of carbon removal delivered at a future date at a specified price. The minimum contract term length will be 10 years (e.g. 2026 to 2036 for a contract signed in 2026), with the possibility for longer contracts on a case-by-case basis. Developers may submit pricing proposals at different offtake lengths as part of the RFP process. Please refer to this Offtake Guidance document for further detail.

No, we do not have a specific price per tonne target. Various factors drive price, including geography, land strategy, financing costs, and type of restoration, among others. However, we recognize that a more conservative approach to carbon accounting paired with additional social and ecological requirements may result in a higher price per tonne. Symbiosis will seek transparency into the key drivers of project costs and pricing to evaluate alignment with minimum quality criteria, adequacy of implementation resources, reversal‑risk mitigation, and the fair sharing of benefits with landowners and/or local communities.

No, Symbiosis will not provide direct project financing for Reforestation and Agroforestry projects. We intend to help developers secure long-term offtake agreements with Symbiosis members so that it’s easier for developers to find investors willing to deploy capital into their projects. Where possible, we will aim to facilitate introductions to relevant investors who may be able to finance nature-based removal projects and/or advisors who may be able to help with financial modeling and offtake structuring. 

Symbiosis may consider a small amount of pre-purchase credits on a case-by-case basis for mangrove projects. We anticipate that the majority of the offtakes from the Symbiosis RFP will be pay-on-delivery offtake.

Symbiosis is generally focused on pay-on-delivery offtakes, rather than pre-purchases, to mobilize the much larger pools of institutional capital that are needed to scale up nature restoration over the long term.

Symbiosis RFPs are meant to augment members’ existing efforts to achieve large-scale decarbonization and removal and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but not to replace those efforts. Members may count credits from the Symbiosis RFP and from outside the Symbiosis RFP towards their Symbiosis volume commitment as long as those credits meet the Symbiosis quality criteria. Developers are encouraged to continue ongoing project conversations with Symbiosis member buyers on projects and tonnes not currently in consideration for the RFP.

Once you submit to the Symbiosis RFP, Symbiosis buyers can only engage with the submitted tonnes via the Symbiosis RFP (rather than bilaterally), though you may still engage with Symbiosis buyers on other volumes or projects.

If your project makes it through the first stage of Symbiosis diligence into full diligence, you will be asked to sign an exclusivity agreement for the credits under consideration by Symbiosis for the term of diligence/negotiations, as is standard in such contexts.

The Symbiosis RFP will culminate in a Symbiosis-led contracting process on behalf of members to streamline negotiations and support more developers to participate and access more buyers (recognizing that many developers have limited resources). Symbiosis will lead negotiation of deal terms with project developers based upon our standard term sheet and contract templates, but developers will ultimately contract directly with member buyers who have opted in to offtake from that project. Symbiosis encourages developers to engage their own legal counsel to support them in connection with such negotiations. 

Members will have the ability to opt in or out of each project, so each successful project may sign offtakes with a different combination of two or more members. For projects that successfully progress beyond the full diligence phase, we use a nonbinding term sheet to align on key commercial terms ahead of full contract negotiations. Symbiosis will negotiate both term sheets and contracts, based upon template agreements that were developed with member input in advance of project-specific negotiations. 

Note that Symbiosis, its members, and third-party service providers will keep any information shared as part of RFP submissions, including commercial proposals, confidential and will adhere to antitrust guidance.

The Symbiosis 2026 RFP is open-ended, and we will review applications on an ongoing basis. This is to encourage project developers to submit to the RFP only when their project reaches a certain level of commercial and technical readiness, as described in the Readiness Checklist. Our technical and commercial review process has four main stages: 

1. Eligibility - checks that projects meet the most basic eligibility criteria (described above) to be considered for further review.

2. Screening - to assess completeness, readiness and prioritization for intermediate diligence. 

3. Geospatial diligence - to assess projects’ baselines, leakage, albedo, land suitability and other characteristics using geospatial tools. 

4. Intermediate diligence - to assess alignment with the Symbiosis quality criteria, prioritize projects for full diligence, and surface key risk areas for further diligence

5. Full diligence - to conduct a full assessment of alignment with the Symbiosis quality criteria and analysis of project risks, including a site visit, prior to determining whether to advance to contracting 

The exact timeline for each stage will vary depending on the project and when the submission is received, but we plan to share updates throughout the process so that project developers have a sense of the timeline for their specific project. For projects that have previously completed intermediate and full diligence and that re-apply, Symbiosis will aim to take previous diligence into account where appropriate in order to reduce time and the burden on developers.

Symbiosis will lead one central diligence process on behalf of member organizations that are purchasing via the RFP process. Project developers will not need to undergo additional diligence by members at the end of the Symbiosis diligence process.

• Fill out our developer interest form to ensure you’re on our mailing list

• Familiarize yourself with our Quality Criteria 

• View our RFP landing page for additional resources and to submit your application 

• Stay tuned for other additional written guidance and other potential Q&A opportunities

Symbiosis commits to using the best available tools and expertise to evaluate projects and reduce the burden of the RFP process for developers and buyers. That means bringing third parties into the process when they have tools or expertise that can help. We ran a multi-stage process to determine which service providers would support our 2026 RFP and are excited to work with Abatable, Space Intelligence, Carbon Direct, Xilva, TerraCarbon, Silvestrum, and BeZero Carbon.

Our principles for getting third-party service providers involved in the RFP are:

• Enforce fairness and objectivity: We have strict conflict of interest policies in place for any service providers who may serve multiple roles in the market. For example, service provider partners may not submit any projects to the RFP, must recuse themselves from evaluating any project with which their company has an association, and Symbiosis will never prioritize projects due to an association with one of the third parties helping us.

• Enforce privacy of developer information: Symbiosis has full control over who can access and view project developer data. All service providers commit to data encryption and securely storing data using industry best practices, including making project data inaccessible to other team members beyond tech product management and diligence evaluation staff.

• Aggregate and make certain data publicly available (as appropriate) so no one party has access to data that could help advance the whole market. 

• Continually re-evaluate our partners for future RFPs, both tech and diligence support. Symbiosis will continuously evaluate which other tools or expertise make sense to use in future RFPs.

Each developer agrees to terms and conditions of the Abatable platform that commit both Abatable and Symbiosis to confidentiality and other data protection measures. If a project moves to full diligence, Symbiosis will work with the developer to sign an exclusivity agreement for the volume being considered for offtake.

We are currently accepting applications for reforestation, agroforestry, and mangrove restoration projects on a rolling basis. We may consider other project types in the future and will update the Symbiosis website if we decide to expand our focus.

Projects that have advanced to commercial and technical readiness and/or incorporated significant changes and improvements based on Symbiosis feedback and/or Quality criteria may resubmit to the RFP. We will aim to take into account prior diligence where appropriate/applicable to save time and reduce the burden on developers.

Please reach out to rfp@symbiosiscoalition.org with your question and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!