Indigo Carbon PBC has signed a long-term agreement with Microsoft under which the technology group will purchase 2.85 million soil carbon credits over a 12-year period, marking one of the largest soil carbon transactions announced to date.
The credits will be generated through the Carbon by Indigo programme, Indigo’s US-based soil carbon project focused on regenerative agriculture practices. The agreement represents the third transaction between the two companies, following earlier purchases of 40,000 tonnes of credits in 2024 and 60,000 tonnes in 2025.
Regenerative agriculture has increasingly been recognised by governments and climate bodies as a potential pathway for carbon removal, alongside wider environmental and agricultural benefits including improved soil health, greater crop resilience and water conservation. Estimates cited by Indigo suggest such practices could remove more than 3.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, although uptake and verification remain uneven across markets.
“Microsoft’s purchase highlights the transformative power of regenerative agriculture to support watersheds, support farming communities, and advance global net-zero goals,” said Meredith Reisfield, Senior Director of Policy, Partnerships and Impact at Indigo.
She added that Indigo has issued close to one million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent removal credits since 2018 and reported water savings of 64 billion gallons across its programmes.
The agreement provides additional income streams for participating farmers at a time of mounting economic and environmental pressures on the agricultural sector. Indigo said it currently works with farmers across eight million acres and has paid $40 million to growers across its programmes to date, excluding government support.
“Microsoft is pleased by Indigo’s approach to regenerative agriculture that delivers measurable results through verified credits and payments to growers, while advancing soil carbon science with advanced modelling and academic partnerships,” said Phillip Goodman, Director of Carbon Removal at Microsoft.
He added that Indigo’s work contributes to strengthening voluntary carbon markets through project quality improvements and engagement with third-party standards.
The transaction is also among the first soil carbon deals to include credits approved under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles. The credits were issued under the Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol and include additional measures to address reversal risk over a 40-year durability period, alongside longer-term monitoring requirements.
