What Chestnut Carbon does

Chestnut Carbon, LLC is a U.S. nature-based carbon removal developer founded in 2022 and headquartered in New York, operating as a platform launched and backed by alternative asset manager Kimmeridge. The company generates high-quality, pure carbon removal credits through two product lines: Afforestation/ARR credits, which restore marginal agricultural lands in the Southeast U.S. to native biodiverse forests, and Improved Forest Management (IFM) credits, which conserve privately-owned, at-risk U.S. forests via the Forest Carbon Works membership program covering 250+ landowners across 37 states. Credit verification is provided by Gold Standard (GS 23278, GS 12135) for the afforestation portfolio and Verra VCS (VCS4268) using VM0003 for the IFM portfolio, with additional credibility from Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC-C180518) and first-mover FSC Verified Impact and Verra removals tag designations.

The company monetizes credits primarily through long-term offtake agreements with enterprise buyers (a 25-year Microsoft agreement for 7M+ tonnes of CO2e being the largest), supplemented by multi-year commitments with TD Bank and spot purchases by BMO, Shopify, Church & Dwight, and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS. Underlying technology includes the proprietary Chestnut Land Explorer for parcel screening, patented carbon measurement devices, remote sensing combined with on-the-ground forest inventory, and Forest Vegetation Simulator-based growth modeling. The company has raised approximately $460M in 2025 ($250M Series B plus a $210M non-recourse project finance facility led by JPMorgan) and operates at a scale of nearly 70,000 acres of afforestation and 46.7M cumulative trees planted across nine states.

Distribution combines an enterprise field sales motion targeting corporate sustainability teams with a community-led enrollment channel through Forest Carbon Works for private forest landowners. The business is asset-heavy by design: Chestnut owns or controls the land underlying its afforestation projects, which is unusual for the carbon project developer category and supports both permanence claims and the bankability that enabled the $210M non-recourse debt facility. Leadership is drawn from energy and commodities capital markets (CEO Ben Dell, also Kimmeridge Managing Partner; CFO Greg Adams ex-FuelCell Energy and J.P. Morgan; COO/CCO Brian DiMarino ex-JPMorgan Global Sustainability), with board representation from Kimmeridge, CPP Investments, and DBL Partners.

Name

Chestnut Carbon

Legal name

Chestnut Carbon, LLC

Website

https://chestnutcarbon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Chestnut Carbon is a U.S. nature-based carbon removal developer that generates Gold Standard and Verra-verified carbon removal credits through afforestation in the Southeast U.S. and Improved Forest Management across 37 states, selling primarily via long-term offtake agreements to enterprise buyers led by Microsoft.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nature-based Carbon Removal & Carbon Credits

NAICS

Forestry and Logging (113), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Forestry & Ecosystem Carbon Removal (Afforestation/Reforestation, Improved Forest Management) (EUABAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Forestry Project Development & Origination (Afforestation/Reforestation/IFM) (IMAMAJAD), Forest Carbon Projects & Ecosystem Services (Carbon Credits, Biodiversity) (IMAMAAAJ), Carbon Sequestration & Forest Carbon Credits (AFAMAMAA)

Keywords

• Nature-based carbon removal
• Voluntary carbon credits
• Afforestation projects
• Improved forest management
• Carbon offset verification

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Carbon Credit Sales: Revenue generated from selling carbon removal credits produced through afforestation projects (planting trees on marginal lands) and Improved Forest Management (IFM) projects (conserving existing at-risk forests). Credits are sold through long-term offtake agreements and spot purchases to enterprise buyers including Microsoft, TD Bank, BMO, Shopify, and others. The company also benefits from land ownership which de-risks projects and lends credibility to carbon offsets.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Chestnut Carbon develops and manages nature-based forestry projects — afforestation on marginal Southeast U.S. lands and Improved Forest Management (IFM) of privately-owned at-risk forests — to generate high-quality, verified carbon removal credits sold to enterprise buyers. Through its wholly-owned Forest Carbon Works program, the company also enrolls private family forest landowners to access voluntary carbon markets via a revenue-sharing membership model.

Product overview

Chestnut Carbon is a nature-based carbon removal company offering two core credit products: Afforestation (ARR) Credits and Improved Forest Management (IFM) Credits. The AFFORESTATION product restores marginal lands in the Southeast U.S. back to native forests under the Chestnut Sustainable Restoration Project, verified by Gold Standard. The IMPROVED FOREST MANAGEMENT product conserves privately-owned at-risk forests through the Forest Carbon Works landowner membership program, using Verra's VM0003 methodology. The company operates proprietary technology including the Chestnut Land Explorer platform for land screening and patented MRV technology for carbon measurement. All credits are pure carbon removal (no avoidance credits) with Gold Standard and FSC certifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forest Carbon Works: Chestnut's Improved Forest Management program that enables private U.S. forest landowners to access carbon credit markets through a conservation membership program.

Products and services

• Afforestation (ARR) Credits Verified, high-quality carbon removal credits generated by restoring marginal lands in the Southeast U.S. back to native, biodiverse forestland. Projects plant hardwood and pine seedlings optimized for regional soil, drainage, and land use, and span nine states. Credits are sold to enterprise buyers for net-zero and carbon negative strategies.
• Improved Forest Management (IFM) Credits Pure carbon removal credits sourced exclusively from privately-owned, at-risk U.S. forests enrolled via the Forest Carbon Works conservation membership program. Uses Verra's VM0003 methodology to credit carbon removal from incremental forest growth under uneven-aged management. The first U.S.-based IFM project issued credits using Verra's carbon removal tag (VT0015), with 95,909 credits issued in April 2026.
• Forest Carbon Works Landowner Program A conservation membership program for private U.S. family forest landowners that provides long-term forest conservation, revenue-sharing on carbon credit sales, and full carbon accounting and verification support, enabling landowners of any size to participate in voluntary carbon markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 46.7 million trees planted since 2022
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ERMcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 22 July 2025ERM acted as technical advisor in the $210M financing deal, assessing the project's environmental and commercial viability to secure funding from lenders.
• Forest Carbon WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2022Chestnut acquired Forest Carbon Works to develop U.S. forest carbon projects. Forest Carbon Works operates as a division of Chestnut and runs the IFM membership program enabling private landowners to participate in carbon markets.
• ArborGensupportingOthersSeedling supply partner for Chestnut's afforestation projects, providing native tree seedlings at scale for planting operations across the Southeast U.S.
• DDK Forestry & Real EstatesupportingOthersRegional forestry expert collaborating with Chestnut to design and implement planting plans that restore native ecosystems and adhere to FSC requirements.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pachama: AI-powered marketplace connecting corporate buyers to nature-based carbon credits, including forestry and IFM projects. Highly comparable to Chestnut's enterprise-facing carbon removal platform; Chestnut's General Counsel previously led legal efforts at Pachama.
• Finite Carbon: Developer of forest carbon offset projects on U.S. family-owned timberland using Verra methodologies. Directly comparable to Chestnut's IFM business model; Chestnut's SVP of Product and Data previously led R&D at Finite Carbon.

Broad incumbents

• South Pole Group: One of the largest global developers and brokers of voluntary carbon credits across nature-based and tech-based solutions. Comparable to Chestnut in serving enterprise buyers with carbon offset solutions; Chestnut's VP Controller previously led North American finance at South Pole.
• Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and removal platform that helps companies measure, reduce, and purchase high-quality carbon credits. Comparable go-to-market motion serving enterprise sustainability teams procuring credits similar to Chestnut's.
• 3Degrees Group: Provider of carbon offset solutions, renewable energy certificates, and decarbonization advisory services to enterprises. Comparable in offering nature-based carbon credit procurement to corporate buyers as part of broader climate services.

Emerging players

• Nori: Marketplace platform for soil and nature-based carbon removal credits, with focus on U.S. agricultural and forestry offsets. Comparable to Chestnut's enterprise sales channel for removal credits, though Nori operates as a marketplace rather than a project developer.
• Indigo Ag: Developer of agricultural carbon credits (e.g., its Carbon by Indigo program) and soil-based carbon sequestration. Adjacent to Chestnut in monetizing nature-based carbon from working landscapes, though Indigo's primary asset class is cropland rather than forestland.
• Rubicon Carbon: Carbon credit developer and financier focused on nature-based and engineered removal solutions with structured project finance capabilities. Comparable to Chestnut in combining project development with capital markets expertise in voluntary carbon markets.
• Running Tide: Nature-based carbon removal company using ocean-based macroalgae sinking and other biological approaches. Comparable as a high-quality nature-based removal credit provider targeting enterprise net-zero buyers, though using a different underlying asset (ocean biomass vs. forests).

Others

• Sylvera: Independent ratings agency for voluntary carbon credits, providing quality assessments used by corporate buyers. Comparable ecosystem role in helping buyers evaluate credits like Chestnut's, though Sylvera does not develop projects itself.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/chestnutcarbon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chestnut-carbon
• Instagraminstagram.com/chestnutcarbon
• Xx.com/chestnut_carbon

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chestnut Carbon