Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce are joining forces to invest in carbon removal projects.

The four companies this week announced the Symbiosis Coalition, an advance market commitment for nature-based removal credits in the voluntary carbon market.

The companies have collectively committed to contract up to 20 million tons in nature-based carbon removal credits by 2030.

Julia Strong, executive director of Symbiosis, said: “Symbiosis represents a steadfast commitment to the importance of nature to climate action and the role of carbon markets, when done right, to financing critical climate solutions. Symbiosis sends a strong signal to project developers that buyers are willing to pay what it takes for high-quality projects that benefit the environment and local communities.”

In an announcement launching the coalition, the companies said the nature-based carbon removal market – which includes forestry projects in different forms – has been hampered by a perceived lack of high-quality restoration projects and uncertainty around willingness to pay.

“The Coalition will help members address these challenges by facilitating the signing of long-term offtake agreements for projects that incorporate conservative assumptions on climate impact, draw on the best available science and practice, and equitably involve and compensate Indigenous Peoples and local communities,” the companies said.

“Symbiosis intends to partner with like-minded investors, NGOs, market standard setters, and project developers to clarify the bar for what “good” restoration looks like and enable more of these projects to happen.”

The coalition has issued a joint RFP, in addition to their own efforts. The initial RFP will focus on afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation projects, inclusive of agroforestry. The second Symbiosis RFP will focus on mangrove restoration projects. The coalition expects more companies will join the group in the future.

Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and chief impact officer at Salesforce, said: "Through effective collaboration, we can rapidly scale high-quality nature-based credits and improve market integrity, driving significant benefits for both people and the planet."

Melanie Nakagawa, chief sustainability officer at Microsoft, added: “High-quality, nature-based solutions are vital to addressing climate change, and our work with the Symbiosis Coalition is a key step towards realizing our carbon-negative goal by 2030 through a diversified portfolio of carbon removal.

"This collaboration will help build the overall market for these solutions, leading to more restoration purchases that benefit all of us. Continued investment in carbon removal is important not just to meet our goals but for the world to meet its goals.”

Microsoft is a major investor in carbon capture and removal projects as it seeks to reach not only carbon neutrality but also remove its historical emissions. The company has also invested in forestry initiatives in Brazil and Kenya.

The company has signed several biochar deals, including an agreement with Carbon Streaming to buy credits from its biochar site in Virginia. Other carbon capture projects undertaken by the company include a 300,000-ton deal with Heirloom signed last year, which will remove carbon directly from the air onto sheets of calcium oxide. It has also agreed a 10,000-ton deal with Climeworks, an electrical direct capture company, and paid for an undisclosed amount captured in Wyoming by Carbon Capture.

Google noted that the coalition is separate from Frontier Climate, another carbon capture partnership also featuring Meta. Frontier has contracted for more than $228 million of carbon credits to date.

“Symbiosis draws from our experience co-founding Frontier, which has successfully deployed an advanced market commitment to accelerate breakthrough human-made technologies that can store carbon for over 1,000 years,” Randy Spock, carbon credits and removals lead at Google, said in a company blog.

“Symbiosis will take a similar approach to the carbon-capturing abilities of nature itself. Both coalitions are an important part of our goal to reach net zero by 2030.”

Google has previously announced $35 million in investments into carbon removal credits. The company previously said it had made “recent purchases” through Frontier, but didn’t provide details. The company is also developing its own direct air capture technology.

Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google, said: “Google is thrilled to join other Symbiosis founders and members to help grow the nature-based carbon removal market in a way that is firmly guided by science and has a measurable impact on the atmosphere. It’s critical that we harness the power of both technology and nature to enable carbon removal at gigaton-scale and with the highest certainty of impact.”

As well as being part of Froniter alongside Google, Meta is also developing its own direct air capture technology.

Blair Swedeen, global head of Net Zero and sustainability at Meta, added: “Reducing our emissions and helping to scale a robust carbon market that includes nature-based and technological carbon removal solutions are essential parts of achieving our sustainability goals, and we’re proud to partner with our peers to help tackle the climate crisis.”

Orange, Digital Realty, and Gibraltar Telecom have previously funded other forestry projects. Equinix and CyrusOne are part of an Orchard initiative in Ireland.

Colt has previously announced an investment into a biochar carbon capture initiative.