The first carbon credits issued under Gold Standard's Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology are now on the market, generated from 6,000 verified hectares of farmland across France and Belgium by the European Soil Revitalization Program.

South Pole, agtech operator Gaïago, and Gold Standard jointly announced the issuance. It marks the inaugural design-certified project worldwide to issue credits under the framework methodology, which Gold Standard developed to govern carbon dioxide removal in the land-use sector.

The program launched in 2022. Gaïago implements and operates it on the ground, working with farmers to adopt regenerative practices while enabling measurable carbon removal. South Pole has acted as carbon asset development partner since the start, leading program development and the verification processes required for Gold Standard certification.

How large can the project get?

The verified 6,000 hectares represent only the first tranche of project land. The developers plan to scale coverage to 39,282 hectares through a network of 727 participating farms.

Over its first crediting period, the program expects to remove 264,174 tCO₂e. That figure now becomes the benchmark against which future issuances will be measured, and buyers tracking delivery against stated capacity will watch whether subsequent verification rounds keep pace with the hectare rollout.

What standards govern the credits?

Beyond the Gold Standard methodology, the credits carry additional alignment claims that matter for corporate procurement:

• The issued credits align with the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) recognition scheme, according to the project developers.
• The project tracks results using the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) GSOC MRV protocol.
• It aligns directly with the FAO RECSOIL Initiative.
• To date, 1,972 local stakeholders have received training on soil health under the program.

The milestone issuance gives corporate net-zero-oriented buyers access to soil carbon removal credits that the developers describe as scientifically verified and generated through the land-use sector.

What did the partners say?

"Trust and integrity are non-negotiable for carbon credit buyers. This milestone proves that soil carbon removals can be measured, verified, and delivered at scale under the highest international standards," said Aaron Barasz, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer at South Pole.

"As the first project worldwide to issue credits under our Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology, the European Soil Revitalization Programme shows how rigorous standards can unlock vital finance for sustainable land management," said Sarah Leugers, Chief Growth Officer at Gold Standard.

What happens next?

The deciding milestones are now verification-driven. The program must expand from 6,000 verified hectares toward its 39,282-hectare target, onboard farms toward the stated 727-farm network, and deliver removals against the 264,174 tCO₂e first-period expectation — all under Gold Standard's ongoing certification audits and the FAO GSOC MRV protocol. Each subsequent issuance will test whether soil carbon can sustain buyer confidence at scale.