Frequently Asked Questions

Whenever a company wants to reduce its CO2 impact, it will first do so by reducing its emissions. But such efforts have a limit. If a company has a target emissions level that is lower than what it can achieve through reduction measures, a company can compensate for this difference by investing in carbon credits. A carbon credit represents an amount (often 1000 kg) of compensated CO2. 

Acorn is based on actual CO2 stored in planted trees, not on the prevention of emissions as is the case in many other programs. In addition, Acorn units are sold after the fact, when the trees have already converted CO2 into biomass. We can measure stored CO2 on a smallholder farmer’s land with the help of remote sensing technology, such as satellite imagery. Because the program emphasizes realized removal of CO2 (often referred to as ‘ex post’) and because we measure the amount removed from the atmosphere, we speak about carbon removal units rather than carbon credits. 

Each and every Acorn CRU:

• Represents one tonne of CO2; 

• Is certified by Plan Vivo; 

• Denotes removal offsets (not avoidance, reduction or allowance credits); 

• Is ex-post—the carbon is sequestered before the CRU is generated, not a promise for the future; 

• Provides a nature-based solution—we use agroforestry methods rather than technological solutions like direct air capture; 

• Is derived from projects that exclusively cover smallholder farmers (<10 ha) in developing countries; 

• Is transparent, measured with remote sensing and traceable —we show when, where and by whom the carbon is sequestered, all the way down to the individual plot and farmer level; 

• Features a durability period of 20 years—this is the period during which the CO2 represented by a CRU is expected to remain removed from the atmosphere or sequestered in the buffer pool; 

• Is backed by a buffer pool put in place as insurance for reversal events; 

• Guarantees 80-90% of the sale price flows directly back to the smallholder farmer; 

• Contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 17.

For each CRU sold as part of the Acorn program, 80% of the revenue flows back to the farmers, 10% goes to the local partner, and the remaining 10% goes to Acorn for administration and operational costs.

We believe in our mission and commit ourselves to empowering smallholder farmers and fighting climate change. That also means that we want the organizations who buy our credits to make a real effort, and not just buy a few carbon credits and tick a box.

To be eligible to purchase Acorn CRUs organizations must meet the following criteria:

1. Organizations should qualify as a business user and not a consumer.

2. Organizations must not be active in any of the following sectors:

• oil and gas;

• aviation;

• mining, or;

• other fossil fuels industries (this does not include power generation utilities who use fossil fuels to generate electricity for consumption).

3. At least one of the following measures should be in place:

• a committed science-based target (SBTi) aligned to limiting a global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees;

• is part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance;

• a written strategy in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (publicly available or available to Rabobank); reductions should be in line with the industry target of the SBTi standard;

• proven greenhouse gas reduction (publicly available or available to Rabobank), in line with the industry targets of the SBTi standard.

Furthermore, all Third-Party buyers must comply with the Rabobank Sustainability Statement, or have a similar type of policy in place.

Offsetting allows companies to compensate for their carbon emissions.

Insetting allows traders and roasters to purchase CRUs generated by farmers they are sourcing from and who are part of the Acorn program. This way, companies can purchase CRUs generated through Acorn by farmers in their own value chain, which these companies can use for an insetting proposition. Insetting also comes with the following benefits:

• Insetting drives decarbonization throughout the supply chain, and allows companies to partner with other players in the chain to collectively reduce (remove) net emissions.

• We offer an additional advantage: providing first right of refusal for purchasing the CRUs generated by a company's supply chain.

• The Acorn registry features detailed information on where the carbon removal has taken place, down to a single plot.

• High-quality measurement, quantification, verification, and certification of carbon removals within the value chain at very low costs make insetting a more viable option.

• Insetting enables companies to develop strong, long-term relationships with farmers and improve farmer livelihoods by unlocking additional income streams for them.

No, we prefer to sell CRUs from a project to different buyers. By doing so, we protect our farmers from a concentration risk. We understand that every (buyer's) situation is different and options can be discussed.

All Carbon Removal Units are considered to be the same, across all of our projects. They adhere to the same standards and are developed under our Acorn Methodology and Framework. Therefore, they are all priced the same across all projects. We understand that different buyers might have different geographical preferences and are open to discuss these.

We are Plan Vivo Certified and are currently not considering other certifiers or labels. We are, however, always open to perform a gap analysis between Plan Vivo and your preferred label.

Prices are based on supply and demand dynamics and might increase or decrease according to the going market prices.

Let us know you’re interested by leaving a message via our contact form, or send an email to acorn@rabobank.com.

All of our CRUs are ex-post. If you’re interested in financing a project, contact SAF or consider buying ex-post CRUs through multi-year offtake contracts. These contracts play a catalytic role for Acorn to attract financing for our local partners.

Acorn projects are certified by Plan Vivo.

Plan Vivo is internationally recognized as the leading organization for community land-use projects and is highly experienced in working with smallholder (agroforestry) projects. Plan Vivo works with us to ensure our projects are truly benefiting farmers, their land and the environment.

You can download the Acorn Biomass Model Report here for insight into the way we calculate the biomass changes in trees planted on smallholder farms.

We work with organizations that have a trustworthy relationship with smallholder farmers. Organizations that believe in the benefits of agroforestry, are committed to venture into an innovative project in the voluntary carbon market, and that have the capacity to partner with the Acorn program.

Therefore, we ask our partners to meet several conditions. For a more elaborate checklist, please consult the Acorn Framework.

• Presence of legal right to sell Carbon Removal Units (no restricting governmental policy)

• The project includes new agroforestry and/or existing agroforestry with a maximum of 5 years since trees were planted

• No deforestation took place in the project area in the last 5 years

• No carbon credits are being sold currently from the project, or CO2 (to be) sequestered is not yet monetized

• The area cultivated by each farmer is between 0.1 and 10 hectares

• There is local engagement and organizational capacity to undertake the project for a minimum of 20 years 

• Every farmer has proof of formal or informal land tenure

Types of project coordinators we would like to partner up with include NGOs, farmers’ co-ops, trading companies, and governments.

Smallholder farmers are hit hardest by climate change. Desertification, extreme rain or extreme drought and rising temperatures are all problems they face on a daily basis. Smallholder farmers also have limited access to financing and therefore cannot easily invest in their own futures or resilience. Rabobank hopes to change this by supporting these farmers, and agroforestry offers an answer. Agroforestry means healthier soil, better yields, and diversification of both nutrients and income. Planting trees, however, requires a relatively large investment. Through Acorn, Rabobank aims to facilitate such investments. 

Plots must have a minimum of 0.1 hectares and a maximum of 10 hectares to be eligible for the Acorn program.

Acorn accounts for the additional CO2 sequestered due to the start of the agroforestry system. This means that if the agroforestry system was initiated on degraded land, the complete system will be included. If a transition is made from monocrop to agroforestry, the biomass of the newly planted trees is taken into consideration. Cash crops count towards delta in biomass but they are not included in CRU calculations.

Agroforestry has many advantages for farmers, especially when working on a small scale: additional revenue, higher crop yields and resilience, better water management, richer soils, and more. Farmers who make the transition to agroforestry through Rabobank’s Acorn program are not likely to leave such benefits behind. Farmers who would not benefit from agroforestry would not qualify for the Acorn program.

As long as a tree grows, the farmer will receive CRUs for the carbon that tree sequesters. Once a tree stops growing, the farmer will continue to harvest food from that tree (e.g. nuts, fruits) and benefit from its protection of crops (e.g. shade, wind cover). The switch to agroforestry and intercropping practices will outweigh any short-term benefits of cutting the trees down for firewood or returning to monocropping.

This decision is not up to Rabobank to decide, as we consider important to ensure that the Agroforestry Design is developed locally, using local expertise and adapted to the characteristics of each plot. However, the Business Case is checked beforehand based on input from external parties to validate.

Depending on geographic location, the requirements for successful agroforestry vary wildly. So to ensure a suitable agroforestry design in the local context, we stimulate the development of an agroforestry design together with local experts.

Rabobank is not the agroforestry expert, but we do work with external parties to cross-check the suitability of the agroforestry design in the local context.

If you are part of the Acorn program or have been affected by the Acorn program, your local organization can usually help you solve your problem.

But sometimes, that is not possible. For example:

• Your local organization tried, but didn't solve your problem (completely).

• Your local organization doesn't respond to your problem.

• You don't know how to contact your local organization.

• You don't trust your local organization.

• Your complaint is about your local organization.

In these cases, you can contact Acorn.

Click here for information about contacting us with your grievance.

CRUs are purchased by corporates to accelerate their climate action on a voluntary basis. These credits are therefore not used for domestic or international compliance under a regulated regime.

As a result, the emission reductions arising from the smallholder agroforestry systems that Acorn stimulates are not reflected in any official accounts. That means that Acorn’s credits are not debited from the host country’s account and not added to the national account of our buyer’s country.

At Acorn, we believe that climate finance should not be impeded while the international community works towards a standardized international infrastructure to ensure corresponding adjustments for voluntary transactions. Countries and smallholder farmers need action today, and we are proud to contribute towards the Paris goals of host countries, specifically when it comes to meeting their conditional NDC targets.

Acorn tries to actively mitigate policy risks through policy advocacy with relevant government institutions, highlighting the co-benefits of Acorn that go beyond the sale of carbon credits. Acorn aims to be as transparent as possible with governments and provides briefings to governmental bodies to disclose our framework, methodology, project scope and avoid carbon reduction goal overlap in the host country.

Obtaining a letter of no objection can be a lengthy process due to changing administrations in government and climate ambitions and NDC commitments being in a state of flux. Still, Acorn endeavors to engage with governments to get these letters of no objection or submit a formal letter of notification. When a country allows for a formal process of gaining a letter of no objection, we work with our local partners to ensure full compliance.

Acorn engages with carbon clubs and has established formal partnerships with AFoCO (Asia), West African Alliance on Carbon Markets (West Africa), and Partnership for Agricultural Carbon (Latin America). We are likewise exploring other partnerships to engage with governments on a multilateral and regional level to shape policymaking.