Charting cooperative pathways to net zero through the IFFDC agroforestry model

Member-owned and democratically controlled collective enterprises have enormous abilities to advance community-driven sustainable practices. These collectives, through adoption of innovative approaches, can integrate cooperative values with environmental goals and can align and direct their activities towards attaining the goal of net-zero emissions. This paper uses a mixed-method and exploratory case study design to investigate the role of a VERRA certified cooperative institution—the Indian Farm-Forestry Development Cooperative (IFFDC) in low-carbon development and rural livelihood enhancement. The IFFDC’s initial pilot project (2008–2013) covered 189 hectares and generated 78,000 Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) credits, of which 41,000 were sold internationally, yielding INR 67.2 million. A tri-party revenue-sharing agreement allocated INR 30 million to 120 landholding farmers (average INR 250,000 per farmer), INR 15 million to 11 forestry cooperatives (average INR 1.36 million per cooperative), and INR 22.2 million was retained by IFFDC to meet operational expenses and support future initiatives. Reinvestment supported new plantations, cooperative capacity building, and maintenance, ensuring long-term ecological and financial sustainability. The project contributed to eight Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15 and 17. Key success factors included participatory governance, structured revenue-sharing, and robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) practices. The study demonstrates that cooperative-led carbon farming can achieve environmental, economic, and social objectives simultaneously, offering a scalable, community-centric model for low-carbon development.