Utilizing 2.9 million hectares of domestic farmland, creating a potential of 43.5 billion yen
Green Carbon Inc. (President: Jun Okita, hereafter “Green Carbon”) has partnered with Snow Brand Seed Co., Ltd. (President: Koichi Kasamatsu, hereafter “Snow Brand Seed”), a member of the Snow Brand Milk Group, to initiate a pilot test for the development of a new J-Credit methodology for carbon farming. The collaboration (hereafter “this collaboration”) aims to utilize 2.9 million hectares of domestic farmland (including rice paddies, fields, and abandoned farmland, excluding orchards and pastureland) to create a potential value of 43.5 billion yen.
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◆Background and Overview of This Collaboration
Green Carbon is actively working to create nature-based carbon credits, primarily in Southeast Asia, while also collaborating with production farmers across Japan to engage in environmental conservation and decarbonization efforts. The company, a startup focused on environmental issues, has been especially involved in reducing methane emissions from rice paddies and converting those reductions into J-Credit credits. In Japan, Green Carbon established the “Rice Farming Consortium,” aimed at creating J-Credits from rice paddies, and obtained the first and largest certification for J-Credits derived from rice paddies in Japan.
Furthermore, Green Carbon’s track record in J-Credit Development and sales in Japan, along with its farmer network, was recognized, leading to its selection for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ public offering for the “FY2024 J-Credit Development Promotion Support Program in the Agricultural Sector.” This has initiated Green Carbon’s efforts toward the development of a new J-Credit methodology for carbon farming.
Snow Brand Seed Co., Ltd. has been promoting the introduction of green manure crops for farmland nationwide. Given its expertise in cultivating various crops and the combination of soil and green manure crops in different regions, the company has initiated this collaboration.
Additionally, Green Carbon sees a challenge in the limited number of agricultural projects and established methodologies for J-Credits in the agricultural sector, which restricts the number of participating farmers. The carbon farming approach we are pursuing, however, is a methodology for storing carbon in farmland, making it applicable to many types of farmland, such as rice paddies and field crops. This will enable more farmers to participate in the program.
◆Future Outlook
In Japan, there are approximately 2.9 million hectares of farmland, including rice paddies and fields. To maximize the potential mentioned above, we envision a future in which this demonstration experiment contributes to reducing emissions in the agricultural sector in Japan.
The goal is to have a new J-Credit methodology adopted, utilizing the data from this demonstration experiment for nationwide implementation. As part of promoting nature-based carbon credits, efforts will be made to expand methodologies in the agricultural sector, including the development of methodologies for cropland, where options are still limited. Through these initiatives, comprehensive support for the agricultural industry will be pursued.
○Potential Calculation Method
・Area: Approximately 2.9 million hectares (including rice paddies, fields, and abandoned farmland; excluding orchards and pastureland)
※Rice paddies：1.359 million hectares
Fields（excluding orchards and pastureland）: 1.118 million hectares
Abandoned farmland：396,000 hectares (based on the Agricultural Census)
Reference：https://www.maff.go.jp/j/tokei/kouhyou/sakumotu/menseki/index.html
・Estimated Credit Generation Potential: Approximately 2.9 million tons (calculated at 1 ton per hectare)
・Market Value：43.5 billion yen (≈ 290M USD @ 150 JPY/USD)
※1：Carbon Farming
Carbon farming, also known as agricultural carbon sequestration, is a farming method that aims to improve the quality of farmland soils and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing atmospheric CO₂ into the soil.
◆Green Carbon, Inc.
Representative ：Jun Okita, CEO
Location ：Isal AKASAKA607, 5-2-33 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Establishment ：December 2019
Business ：Carbon credit creation and sales business, agriculture-related business, environment-related business, other related businesses and ESG consulting business
URL ： https://green-carbon.co.jp/
◆Business Introduction of Green Carbon
Green Carbon operates with the vision of “Saving the Earth with the Power of Life”, by providing comprehensive support for the creation, registration, and sales of carbon credits in domestic and international markets. We are also expanding our business operations in wider industries including the agriculture, research & development, and ESG consulting. Our operations are primarily based in Japan and Southeast Asia, while currently expanding business in Australia and South America. We create naturally derived carbon credits from sources including water paddies, biochar, forest conservation, carbon farming, mangrove plantation, and methane from cattle eructation. Our main focus is on generating carbon credits through methane gas reduction in rice paddies, where we have obtained the first and largest certification for J-Credits in Japan (approximately 6,220 tons), and plan to expand to around 40,000 hectares (approximately 100,000 tons) in the fiscal year 2024. We also offer a service called “Agreen” that integrates credit registration, application, and sales into one platform, simplifying procedures such as application registration and document preparation, thus reducing workload for credit creators.
◆GREEN CARBON JAPAN VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED
Abbreviation ：GREEN CARBON JAPAN VIETNAM CO,. LTD
Representative ：Jun Okita, CEO
Location ：10th Floor, The Nexus Building, 34-3B Ton Duc Thang, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Establishment ：August, 2024
Businesses ：Carbon credit creation and sales businesses, agriculture-related business
◆Social Media for Green Carbon
YouTube ：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO4WnGOHDaVB1ikxheZasA
note ：https://note.com/green_carbon/
Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557429326458
X ：https://mobile.x.com/GreenCarbon2019
Linkedin ：https://www.linkedin.com/company/green-carbon-inc/
Wantedly：https://www.wantedly.com/companies/greencarbon2019
◆Snow Brand Seed Co., Ltd.
Representative ：Koichi Kasamatsu, President and CEO
Location ：1-5-1, Ueno-honcho 1-chome, Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Established ：December 15, 1950
Business Activities ：Production and sales of seeds for forage crops, vegetables, flowers, and green manure crops; manufacture and sale of compound feeds; landscaping design, construction, and sales
Website ： https://www.snowseed.co.jp/
◆Introduction of Snow Brand Seed Co., Ltd.
We are expanding our business with “the environment” as the central theme, and in order to enhance customer satisfaction, we have created customer-specific business structures. The “Dairy and Livestock Business” serves dairy farming and livestock farmers, while the “Field Crop and Horticultural Business” caters to paddy field, arable farming, and horticultural farmers. Additionally, the “Environmental Landscaping Business” addresses the needs of clients involved in landscaping, ecological restoration, and other related projects. These three businesses provide comprehensive support to each customer, while also collaborating closely under the theme of “environment.” They are supported by the production and procurement fields, as well as research and development, to drive the operation of the business.