By Business India Editorial

Only recently launched, Xylo has developed an innovative business model that links planting and maintaining forests to the carbon credit system. It is a first-of-its-kind market platform that aggregates micro-forestry carbon credits to be sold to businesses and institutions that wish to offset their carbon footprint. Through a reliable, transparent platform, Xylo measures and aggregates the carbon offsets of small farmers that have planted a forest, typically on barren land. Proceeds from the sale of the carbon credits are then distributed back to the individuals and institutions that planted the forest to ensure ongoing maintenance and the planting of more trees.

Xylo was born out of an established forestry network called Alaap, which supports reforestation in India using the Miyawaki Method. The organisation differentiates planting trees and planting forests, based on biodiversity and density. Over the years, Alaap has created dense, native forests that grow 10 times faster, and are 30 times denser than conventional growth trends. Alaap also makes backyard forests for fuel, fodder and nutrition for local communities. These pieces of the forest also improve biodiversity and reduce water runoff.

The rapid growth of forests set out by Alaap made it realise that it is doing something that industries would like to do, but have limited capacity and knowledge. Its solution is to take these carbon credits to interested industries to help them offset their emissions and contribute to remaking green areas and cutting down on massive amounts of carbon emissions. Xylo redistributes funds to farmers.

With Alaap as its first source, Xylo hopes to open up its platform to other forestry initiatives, giving them the incentive to continue their efforts through an income. Xylo also hopes to build a holistic and meaningful platform for industries by opening up information and knowledge on the forests they are helping create.

In the long run, Xylo intends to make the carbon measurement process more efficient by leveraging technology, providing buyers a transparent, real-time, monitoring experience and connect buyers and forest creators directly through an easy to use platform.

The team at Xylo is led by Sheeba Sen, a corporate lawyer turned environmentalist. Sen came to the idea of Alaap and Xylo while trying to understand the coffee business in Karnataka. Her experience showed the urgent need for biodiversity and forest creation to help significantly cut down carbon emissions while encouraging sustainable livelihoods.