Netflix Agrees to a 15-Year Carbon Credits Agreement With the American Forest Foundation
Netflix Partners with American Forest Foundation for Carbon Credit Program
In a significant move towards sustainability, streaming giant Netflix has partnered with the American Forest Foundation (AFF) for a 15-year contract to purchase carbon credits from AFF's Fields & Forests program. This program aims to expand to 75,000 acres by 2032, producing an estimated 4.8 million carbon credits.
The partnership provides long-term access to nature-based carbon removal for Netflix and supports rural livelihoods. By restoring underutilized farmland into working forests across the U.S. South, the program integrates rural livelihoods into the carbon projects, aiming to build social resilience alongside climate impact.
For AFF, the deal signals private capital's growing role in financing reforestation at scale. John Ringer, Senior Director of Project Finance and Environmental Markets at AFF, stated that the partnership demonstrates what's possible when business and nature come together.
The contract is structured through milestone prepayments, where Netflix advances funds tied to measurable outcomes such as acres enrolled. To date, the Fields & Forests program has enrolled 2,500 acres, committed $2 million in direct payments to landowners, and is on track to plant 1.4 million trees.
The partnership is designed to serve small-acreage landowners, a group often excluded from carbon markets due to high transaction costs and technical hurdles. The deal serves as a potential blueprint for future corporate participation in nature-based solutions, particularly through innovative financing mechanisms like milestone prepayments.
The agreement will support the program's initial 6,000-acre rollout and lay the groundwork for scaling. Securing credible, verifiable carbon credits over a long-term period, such as the 15-year contract between AFF and Netflix, can position companies ahead of shifting regulatory landscapes.
The Fields & Forests model offers a test case for how private capital, rural communities, and climate objectives can align, potentially defining how global corporations engage with nature-based solutions in the future. The AFF-Netflix partnership is designed to restore trust in carbon markets, which have faced integrity concerns, by incorporating clear verification standards and community benefits.
The SEC's proposed climate-related reporting framework and the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are examples of evolving disclosure requirements that companies may need to comply with in the future. Alisha Logue, a Georgia landowner enrolled in the Fields & Forests program, values the project for its potential to provide intergenerational wealth and protect her family's legacy.
The search results do not provide specific information about the companies involved in the Fields & Forests initiative of the American Forest Foundation focused on converting undervalued farmland into working forests. However, the partnership between Netflix and AFF underscores the growing importance of nature-based solutions in corporate sustainability strategies.
