Developing Innovative Carbon Credits for Indoor Agriculture
- Challenge: The U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified a need for more climate-smart agricultural commodities across the United States. USDA issued a competitive grant funding announcement for climate-smart commodities across a range of agricultural products.
- Our Solution: GTC 360° Advisors teamed with an innovative indoor hydroponic produce company to form a consortium of minority producers and a historically black university (HBCU) to develop and submit a proposal for the USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Funding Opportunity
- Results: Our consortium was awarded a $5 million grant in 2023 to engage in a three-year pilot project to create a sustainable market for climate-smart commodities and carbon credits by implementing production practices that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through advanced indoor farming techniques in food deserts with a focus on participation from minority universities and underserved/minority producers. GTC 360° Advisors serves as a project partner and will develop a baseline of climate-smart practices and resulting GHG reductions, and then manage the development and approval of a carbon reduction methodology with an established carbon registry to generate and trade carbon credits.
