A Colombian specialist in REDD+ projects

February 4, 2025

Ana Milena Plata Fajardo, CEO of Biofix, talks to The Energy Year about how the company’s carbon credit plan began in Colombia, the scale of its impact, how it manages carbon credits and its main clients. Biofix develops mitigation initiatives, primarily for REDD+ projects in Colombia and Brazil.

How did your carbon credit idea commence in Colombia?
Biofix is a company specialised in nature-based solutions for carbon offsetting. We support companies in managing their carbon footprint through the marketing of high-quality carbon credits issued under international standards, such as the ICROA [International Carbon Reduction Offset Alliance].
Our journey began with a private project in the Colombian Pacific, which quickly caught the attention of neighbouring landowners, including those in collective territories. This initial project presented unique challenges, as working with collective territories in Colombia requires a different approach to decision-making and agreement establishment.
Unlike typical private commercial law, collective territories require free, prior and informed consent from the entire assembly, not just a legal representative. This complexity posed initial hurdles in creating legally binding agreements that would satisfy both commercial law and public ministries, including the environmental ministries and the newly created Ministry of Equality and Equity.
Despite these challenges, we saw an opportunity in working with these communities, particularly because they controlled large tracts of land – over 100,000 hectares [1,000 square kilometres] in some cases.
Our first major project, Delfines Cupica, gained national and international recognition, winning awards and attracting the attention of major companies such as Ecopetrol. This success propelled Biofix’s growth, and we now have 12 certified projects underway and have generated over 30 million carbon credits.
We initially launched these projects due to strong demand. However, today in Colombia, demand for carbon credits is decreasing due to the carbon tax, while supply is increasing. As a result, we are more cautious with new projects and prioritise maintaining existing ones.

What is the scale of Biofix’s impact, and how do you manage these carbon credits?
We are currently managing projects in Colombia and Brazil located in collective territories covering approximately 3.5 million hectares [35,000 square kilometres] of land. We have generated over 32 million carbon credits from these projects, representing a significant contribution to global carbon offsetting efforts.
However, it’s important to note that not all generated credits are immediately tradable. We hold credits in reserve for about 15 years, which is half of the standard 30-year credit period for most projects. During this time, regular verifications and audits are conducted to ensure the ongoing integrity of the project and its carbon sequestration.
If no leakage or issues are detected during these verifications, the reserved credits are released for trading after the holding period. However, if any issue is found, the corresponding credits are cancelled to maintain the integrity of the offsetting system.
This reserve system is crucial for maintaining the credibility and long-term viability of carbon offset projects. It provides a buffer against unforeseen circumstances and ensures that the carbon credits sold represent genuine, long-term carbon sequestration.
In Colombia, we have projects such as Yaawi Iipana REDD+, which covers 600,000 hectares [6,000 square kilometres]. The large scale of these projects allows for more efficient management and lower transaction costs, making it easier to generate substantial volumes of carbon credits while still providing significant benefits to local communities.

 

Who are your main clients, and how do they approach carbon offsetting?
Our client list includes major players such as Ecopetrol, Primax, Chevron, Frontera, Biomax, Ocensa, ODL and Cenit. The approach to carbon offsetting varies significantly among these clients. Some companies, particularly those with historically complex relationships with indigenous communities, prefer to buy credits discreetly.
On the other hand, companies such as Ecopetrol take a more engaged and transparent approach. They conduct thorough due diligence, including on-site visits to project areas. For instance, Ecopetrol spent about a month reviewing how resources were being invested in communities and how the projects were being implemented. After their review, they organised a large event with Cenit to showcase the success of the project.
We have noticed a significant shift in how companies evaluate carbon credits. Initially, the focus was primarily on price, with CFOs or similar financial decision-makers leading the purchasing process. However, there’s now increasing awareness and scrutiny from dedicated teams within companies. These teams, often led by people in roles such as chief sustainability officers, not only consider financial aspects but also conduct due diligence on the quality and impact of the credits.

How do you work with communities, and what challenges does this present?
We work with Afro and indigenous communities who own more than 50% of the forest land in Colombia, amounting to some 40 million hectares [400,000 square kilometres]. As mentioned, the decision-making process in collective territories follows a complex governance structure.
To address related challenges, we have developed a model where 65-70% of the carbon credits generated go directly to the communities. The remaining portion covers Biofix’s costs for the implementation, validation, registration, certification and commercialisation of these credits. However, managing these resources effectively presents its own set of challenges.
Many community members are not highly educated, and the carbon credit system is complex. To bridge this gap, we invest significantly in education and support.
We conduct regular visits to explain processes, address difficulties and maintain communication channels, often in local languages and in hard-to-access territories. This ongoing engagement is crucial, especially given that many indigenous governments require a change of representative every year, necessitating frequent re-education efforts.

What is Biofix’s strategy for growth and diversification?
In the short term, we are focusing on developing more premium, boutique projects with specific characteristics demanded by tech companies in the US and Europe. These projects often involve native species plantations with biodiversity monitoring, commanding prices of USD 60-100 per tonne. This approach responds to a growing trend among certain clients who are looking for carbon credits that offer additional environmental benefits beyond carbon sequestration.
However, we recognise the ongoing demand for more affordable carbon credits, particularly from large emitters such as oil and gas companies that need to offset millions of tonnes annually. Therefore, we continue to maintain our existing projects that produce lower-priced credits.
In the longer term, we aim to expand our presence in tropical Latin American countries, focusing on areas such as Brazil, Chile and the USA because of the abundance of natural resources and the increasing global demand for nature-based solutions to climate change.
Importantly, we are not just focusing on carbon credits, which are part of a larger business ecosystem. We are one entity within a business group that includes Biolegal (a law firm specialising in land issues and projects with ethnic communities), Bosque Vivo (a reforestation company with a goal of planting 1 million native trees this year), and Econaut (a company developing products with natural inputs from Bosque Vivo forests).
We are also developing an innovative carbon footprint calculation and offsetting app. This app, created in collaboration with MIT, aims to provide environmental impact information at the point of purchase, allowing consumers to compare the carbon footprints of different brands.

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