"Top brands buy Amazon carbon credits from suspected timber laundering scam", 21 May 2024

...Two major carbon offset projects in the Brazilian Amazon, whose credits have been sold to companies like GOL Airlines, Nestlé, Toshiba and PwC, may have been used to launder timber from illegally deforested areas.

The conclusion comes from an analysis by the Center for Climate Crime Analysis (CCCA), a Netherlands-based nonprofit founded by prosecutors and investigators that investigates emitters of climate-warming greenhouse gases. Brazilian authorities had already launched timber laundering probes in the areas covered by CCCA’s analysis, which resulted in the suspension of logging authorizations. The owner of a company responsible for one of these projects has a prior conviction for timber laundering.

CCCA made the analysis at Mongabay’s request after an anonymous source highlighted the participation of people convicted of timber laundering in the projects.

CCCA analyzed two REDD+ projects, called Unitor and Fortaleza Ituxi, in the municipality of Lábrea, in Amazonas state...

CCCA found evidence of possible timber laundering in two REDD+ projects in the south of Brazil’s Amazonas state...

In these two cases, however, CCCA found inconsistencies between the volume of timber declared to authorities and the logged volume estimated through satellite images — a mismatch that indicates these areas may have been used to launder the equivalent of more than 4,200 truckloads of wood.

Grupo Ituxi, the company behind both projects, denied in a statement to Mongabay any connection with timber laundering and said all of its initiatives are audited, verified and recorded...

...Grupo Ituxi, said it only owns the forest management plans and that logging is carried out by third parties. “We only mediate commercial relations with interested parties able to carry it out — companies that have their own staff and machinery to harvest the wood,” it said. Grupo Ituxi also contested the findings of CCCA’s analysis, saying satellite imagery isn’t enough to assess actual logging volumes, which it added could only be achieved by an on-site inspection.

A Verra spokesperson said the company needs more details about the analyses before commenting on the findings...

In a statement to Mongabay, Carbonext said it wasn’t involved with the forest management carried out in the area, and that “there are no scientifically recognized ways of determining the volume of wood in forest management projects based solely on satellite images.”

...GOL told Mongabay that all carbon credits acquired by the company from Moss are audited. (Read the full statement here.)

Other Brazilian companies, such as the food delivery app ifood; Itaú, one of the country’s biggest banks; and Hering, a fashion company, are among the major clients of Forteleza Ituxi. The credits were also used to offset emissions by the Japanese electronics giant Toshiba.

In their respective statements, iFood and Itaú said they had conducted internal due diligence processes before buying the credits. Itaú added: “Any proven case of fraud or environmental crime involving partners will result in the termination of the partnership.” (Read iFood and Itaú’s full statements respectively here and here.) Hering said the credits were purchased through a leading intermediary company, which presented documentation of the validation and integrity of the assets (read the full statement here). Toshiba didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.

An even larger number of credits, 2.3 million, have been retired from the Unitor REDD+ project. Its top three clients are Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol, Canadian mining company Sigma Lithium Resources, and British auditing firm PwC International. The list also includes other transnational firms like Nestlé.

In a statement, Ecopetrol said it bought the credits from one of the world’s most recognized project developers. (Read the full statement here.) Nestlé Brasil said it acquired carbon credits through WayCarbon, a leading company in the area. (Read the full statement here.) Sigma and PwC didn’t respond to our emails...

Grupo Ituxi denied any land irregularity in Evergreen. Carbonext said it has achieved the objectives of the case, which has now been closed. (Read the full statement here.) Boeing said it was unaware of the allegations and is monitoring the situation to inform its next steps. (Read the full statement here.) Spotify didn’t respond to our questions...