In a major endorsement of its methods for measuring soil organic carbon removals enhancements, Downforce Technologies has been granted International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification for ISO 14064 Part 2, a first for any company assessing soil organic carbon and land management practices remotely.
The accreditation underscores Downforce’s reputation as a leader in science-based, data-driven insights and solutions. Downforce’s ISO-certified methodology enables companies in the food and land sector to understand their soil carbon baseline across their portfolio, report their net zero position in a compliant way and establish carbon projects with their suppliers to generate carbon credits for retirement. These credits for verified carbon removals can be used to inset against their supply chain emissions (Scope 3).
ISO is a non-governmental organisation with a membership of 169 national standards bodies and oversees the internationally recognised 14060 family of standards relating to the measurement, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Downforce Technologies has gained ISO 14064-2 & 3 for its Downforce Natural Capital (DNC) Programme methodology and process for projects to be developed, monitored and verified for soil organic carbon removals and storage.
Co-founder, Prof Jacquie McGlade, a former Chief Scientist of the United Nations Environment Programme, said it was a milestone event for the company and demonstrated the credibility of its data fusion and digital twin methodologies underpinning its scientific assessments.
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“Remote assessment, which fuses publicly available ground measurements with earth observation data, significantly reduces the costs to the landholder by minimising the need for standard soil testing. This is critical for Australia where properties range from tens to hundreds of thousands of hectares,” Prof McGlade said.
“ISO accreditation is the pre-eminent GHG certification scheme that enables Downforce to provide independently verified soil organic carbon measurement at scale, globally.”
Prof McGlade said with an ISO-accredited platform, users have access to a third-party verification process to confirm their carbon storage claims.
“There has been a growing sense of disillusionment about the validity of carbon being stored in offsetting projects within voluntary markets. Gaining ISO certification for soil carbon within a Natural Capital framework will help Downforce and its customers rebuild confidence and trust in carbon farming to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2030,” she said.
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