MRV

Real, measurable climate impact you can trust

Trefadder's MRV process is built into every project from day one - combining rigorous methodology, continuous monitoring and independent verification to give our customers full confidence in the outcomes we deliver.

Trefadder has a structured and documentable MRV process (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) that is integrated into every project from inception. Each project undergoes a thorough baseline assessment, followed by ongoing monitoring of survival and growth. Carbon sequestration is calculated using conservative, survival-adjusted assumptions in line with recognised methodology (VM0047), and projects are described in accordance with ISO 14064-2 prior to validation and third-party registration.

Monitoring combines field work with remote sensing and continuous data collection at the project level. This is supported by proprietary tools for land mapping and ecological analysis, developed to ensure precise site assessment, sound project planning and long-term follow-up.

To ensure high quality and credibility, we partner with leading external actors, including KPMG Canada, so that project design and verification align with international standards. This gives our customers assurance that the measures have real, verifiable impact, while also reducing regulatory and reputational risk.

Documentation

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Site selection

Together with Microsoft, Trefadder has developed an AI-powered search engine for climate forests.

The solution collects and analyzes data from all relevant private and public sources to identify the most suitable land for climate forest development.

This approach is transformative, significantly reducing the time required to identify and quantify carbon capture potential across relevant landowners in Norway.

Microsoft is also a customer of Trefadder, and the company received support to develop this “search engine” for climate forest areas.

Trefadder’s platform has already identified millions of decares of potential climate forest land in Norway, based on more than 25 criteria. By mapping, evaluating, and estimating carbon capture potential, the solution has streamlined the process by up to 90% compared to traditional methods.

Ensure real climate projects

Additionality is a key principle in environmental and climate projects, ensuring that implemented actions deliver real and incremental climate benefits. It means that the carbon capture achieved is truly “additional” – and would not have occurred without the project’s intervention.

In the context of carbon credits, additionality is essential to ensure that climate initiatives lead to genuine environmental improvements. Projects must demonstrate that the carbon capture is directly linked to their specific actions, and not the result of existing practices or natural developments that would have happened anyway.

Trefadder’s climate forests meet full additionality requirements, ensuring that projects would not have been implemented without the financing provided through carbon credit sales.

For example, if a landowner would have planted forest regardless, it would not qualify as additional. Trefadder enables tree planting that would not otherwise take place, ensuring real CO₂ capture that forms the basis for the carbon credits purchased by our customers.

Legal framework

In climate forestry, the time horizon – often extending beyond one or two generations – is a critical factor for ensuring maximum carbon capture and long-term storage.

Trefadder’s climate forests benefit from strong natural framework conditions. Norway is one of the world’s most politically stable countries, with predictable regulations, low levels of corruption, and landowners with long traditions of responsible land and forest management. This stands in contrast to many other countries where climate forests are established.

Trefadder has set an even higher standard. In collaboration with the law firm BAHR, we have developed a legal framework that governs the entire value chain – from species and site selection, to preparation, planting, monitoring, forest management, and future harvesting.

A typical production cycle spans around 100 years. During this period, the legal agreements regulate all key aspects, ensuring that the forest is managed to maximize the share of timber used in long-lived construction materials, thereby extending carbon storage beyond harvest.

This framework is a cornerstone of Trefadder’s model, ensuring the forest’s role in maximizing CO₂ capture – both during and beyond our lifetime.

Commercial model

Trefadder AS is Norway’s largest producer of biological carbon credits – but how is carbon capture turned into tradable credits?

This was a key challenge during Trefadder’s early years. Through the Norwegian Environment Agency’s extensive climate forest research programme (2013–2019), the company gained access to one of the world’s leading climate forestry experts, KPMG Canada.

KPMG Canada advises both governments and companies on the development of climate projects, and major investment funds rely on them to verify climate forest initiatives.

Since 2020, Trefadder and KPMG Canada have collaborated to develop the commercial framework for Norwegian climate forests.

Carbon sequestration production

Trefadder AS delivers high-quality carbon credits based on precise data on carbon capture.

How it works:

Mapping and analysis: Scientific assessment of existing vegetation and future carbon capture potential in climate forests
Risk analysis and measurement: Full measurement of planting areas and risk assessments to ensure robustness
Drone monitoring: Use of drones to count trees and calculate growth over time
High safety margin: Built-in buffers to account for unforeseen events

CO₂ removal through photosynthesis
Trees capture CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it in trunks, roots, and soil, while releasing oxygen. Trefadder has developed a unique platform to maximize CO₂ capture in secure, suitable areas for climate forests.

How we produce:

Pre-production:

Technical land analysis
Site inspections and CO₂ calculations
Agreements with landowners

Together with Microsoft, we have developed a solution to identify optimal land for climate forests. Landowners are responsible for planting, forest management, and future harvesting.

Production phase (1–100 years):

Planting and forest management
Regular monitoring and maintenance

Forests are managed for up to 100 years, with particular focus on the first 30 years, ensuring that the trees can later be used as construction materials that continue to store CO₂ for hundreds of years.

ISO standard

Our documentation is your assurance. Forest-based CO₂ removal is one of the most cost-effective and reliable ways to reduce atmospheric carbon levels.

This requires that projects are established on land where planting actually takes place, forests are allowed to grow undisturbed to maximize carbon capture, and the timber is ultimately used in long-lived construction materials that store carbon for decades or even centuries.

Key principles:

Financing planting that would not otherwise occur (additionality)
Partnerships with local landowners committed to responsible forest stewardship
Establishment on new land (not replanting)
Right species planted in the right location
Focus on increasing biodiversity
CO₂ capture guarantees with built-in risk buffers
Delayed harvesting to maximize carbon capture
Legally binding agreements
Full traceability from seed to harvest
Full operational transparency