Symbiosis Coalition Announces Second RFP
The RFP from Symbiosis Coalition will include mangrove projects for the first time in addition to reforestation and agroforestry projects
Symbiosis Coalition today announced its second Request for Proposal (RFP), which now includes a focus on mangrove projects alongside reforestation and agroforestry projects, expanding its focus to include blue carbon pathways for the first time. Mangroves store up to 10x more carbon per unit area than terrestrial forests, yet the market for high-integrity mangrove projects remains nascent. Symbiosis aims to change that by demonstrating near-term demand for high-quality carbon removal, and helping lay the foundation for a broader market.
This is the second RFP from Symbiosis, a 20M tonne advance market commitment established to contract for the next generation of nature-based carbon removal projects. Expanding into mangroves is the next step in that journey. Symbiosis remains equally committed to continuing our work in reforestation and agroforestry – including continuing to prioritize and announce projects from the first RFP – and exploring other pathways over time.
What are we looking for?
Symbiosis aims for contracted projects to represent best in class examples of restoration that represent the latest science and standards. Projects contracted through Symbiosis will meet the Quality Criteria and be ready to enter into a commercial offtake agreement. We are also piloting a pre-purchase track for up to one million tonnes of credits from mangrove projects.
For this RFP, we’re specifically looking for mangrove, reforestation and agroforestry projects that meet the following criteria:
Eligible projects should:
Have a well-established pilot and eligible activity type (no afforestation)
Exist in countries below US State Department risk level 4
Use an ICVCM-approved standard and methodology for reforestation and agroforestry; methodology from an ICVCM-approved standard for mangroves
Offer at least 100,000 tonnes for Symbiosis contracts over a 10 year period
Use a dynamic baseline (we may consider exceptions for mangroves on a case by case basis)
Submit documentation as outlined by the Readiness Checklist
We will prioritize project developers with:
Demonstrated experience implementing a restoration and/or carbon project
Sufficient capitalization or in advanced stages of financing
Ability to deliver >500,000 tonnes over 10 yrs
We acknowledge that nature-based solution pathways often result in both avoided emissions and carbon removal. While both are critical to climate action, Symbiosis will focus on the removal aspects of these projects and only the removal portions will count towards the Symbiosis 20M tonne goal. In the case of mangroves, we are open to both restoration and mixed projects.
Earlier this year, Symbiosis announced updates to our Quality Criteria, including, for the first time, criteria for mangrove projects. The updated Quality Criteria apply across all ecosystem types, reflecting that the core principles of quality (robust baselines, credible additionality, durable carbon storage, strong social and ecological safeguards) are common to all nature-based carbon removal project types, while calling out ecosystem-specific guidance where the science demands it. Our Readiness Checklist and other supporting documentation for the RFP provide greater detail and technical guidance for developers as they consider the RFP.
What we’ve learned
This is Symbiosis's second RFP since launching in 2024. We opened our first RFP in December 2024 with a focus on reforestation and agroforestry projects, and have announced two projects so far as a result: Mombak’s large-scale reforestation of degraded pasturelands in the Brazilian Amazon, and Living Carbon’s reforestation of former mine and agricultural lands in the United States. We continue to progress projects identified through the first RFP and expect to announce additional offtakes this year.
When we launched our first RFP, we committed to openly sharing what we learn from this process so that others in the ecosystem could benefit. Here are a few changes we’ve made based on our experience going from zero to one at Symbiosis:
Rolling RFP: Developers can now apply when their project meets our criteria and is ready for offtake, rather than within a fixed application window. (If you intend to apply at any point, we recommend completing the quick assessment on the RFP platformto understand your current eligibility and to share information on the project so that we can stay in touch.)
Refined criteria: We have refined our eligibility criteria and screening process to assess project readiness for full diligence and offtakes earlier, giving projects the best chance of advancing at each stage.
Streamlined and lighter lift application process: Our updated RFP intake process follows a sequenced approach that reduces the initial application burden. Developers will only be asked to submit further details if they progress in the process, rather than being asked to provide a large submission packet upfront.
Timeline: We are committed to identifying ways to accelerate the process, including by considering previous diligence conducted by Symbiosis or Symbiosis partners and members where applicable.
Our partners
We're grateful to engage a network of organizations that bring deep expertise to every stage of the process. Abatable will serve as our RFP platform and screening solutions partner, providing a single, real-time hub for members, developers, and diligence partners to exchange or review information. For project diligence, we're continuing our work with Carbon Direct and Xilva and now working with Silvestrum, TerraCarbon, and BeZero Carbon to conduct risk evaluation and on-the-ground assessment in the later stages of diligence. We’ll leverage Space Intelligence’s carbon project due diligence technology to conduct robust geospatial analysis of a range of evaluation criteria, including land eligibility, non-permanence risk, leakage risk, and dynamic baseline integrity. Learn more about how we select and work with our service providers here.
How to apply
To apply, developers should:
Review Symbiosis’ Quality Pillars and Quality Criteria to confirm their project meets the minimum standards. We strongly encourage projects to fill out a quick assessment on the RFP platform to assess their eligibility instantly and to make the team aware of their project so we can stay in touch.
Review the readiness checklist and FAQs to understand how to prepare and whether the RFP is the right fit at this time. The checklist outlines necessary documentation, how it supports Symbiosis’ evaluation, and the criteria. Developers can also review the Symbiosis offtake guidance for details on submitting their commercial proposal.
Submit their applications through the online platform. Applications will be advanced on a rolling basis.
For developers who previously applied to our first RFP, we will consider projects that have advanced in maturity and/or incorporated changes reflective of Symbiosis’ feedback or Quality Criteria. We expect to continue to prioritize those projects further along in Symbiosis’ pipeline and will consider previous diligence to expedite project reviews where appropriate.
Next steps
Developers will now be able to track their project status on the RFP platform. Projects that proceed to full diligence will undergo a full round of in-depth evaluation (including on-the-ground site visit), with the commercial negotiations of the term sheet expected to begin three months following the start of full diligence.
Projects not yet ready for the Symbiosis RFP can find a list of resources here to help identify early-stage funding, technical assistance, or other support. This list will evolve over time as a public resource for all developers working to build high-integrity nature-based carbon removal projects.
Symbiosis will continue announcing new offtakes, exploring new project pathways, and expanding its corporate membership base, advancing its 20 million tonne commitment and helping catalyze the high-integrity nature-based carbon removal market at large.
Join our upcoming webinars to learn more about how to apply and prepare your Symbiosis application:
Symbiosis RFP Webinar for Mangrove Project Developers | April 14 @ 10 am ET
Symbiosis RFP Webinar for Reforestation and Agroforestry Project Developers | April 16 @ 11 am ET