To leverage the power of tree planting as a tool against climate change, robust monitoring and transparent accreditation are essential. Thoughtworks partnered with the xpand Foundation on its tree-planting tool, TreeO2, to help it navigate a resource-heavy auditing process through effective use of data.
This collaboration has yielded remarkable results, including a 75% reduction in the time needed to prepare for audits and an 80% decrease in the interval between them, alongside improved data accessibility and clarity.
Thoughtworks partnered with the xpand Foundation to develop an analytics system that transforms TreeO2 data into comprehensive audit reports. Their TreeO2 platform is a detailed tree-tracking system, recording essential information for each planted tree, including location, owner, age, and growth. With RFID tags and regular measurements, TreeO2 provides precise carbon sequestration data, offering a more accurate approach than land-based estimations.
The xpand Foundation’s community forestry programme, WithOneSeed, aims to raise international carbon farming standards by paying subsistence farmers in Timor-Leste to plant and look after trees. These annual payments encourage ongoing guardianship from the whole community, and the prioritization of carbon-sequestering trees over short-term cash crops. By planting a diverse range of trees, the projects also boost biodiversity. The charity funds its activities by selling carbon credits.
A key challenge for the xpand Foundation and the communities in Timor-Leste engaged in reforestation through the program was streamlining monitoring and accreditation of their essential tree-planting efforts. TreeO2 is audited by the Gold Standard process.
Streamlining audits for greater impact
Thoughtworks partnered with the xpand Foundation to develop an analytics system that transforms TreeO2 data into comprehensive audit reports. This web-based platform has led to:
- Faster audit preparation time: A significant 75% reduction, decreasing the process from over 12 months to just three months.
- Vastly improved audit frequency: An 80% reduction in the time between audits, enabling yearly participation instead of every five years.
- Community benefits: This has a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of the farmers planting and maintaining the trees, as they can now be paid in shorter cycles, improving cash flow.
- Improved transparency and readability: CO2 sequestration and trees data are now visualized as line and bar charts, which can be easily updated based on the latest data and project settings.
"The TreeO2 project is valuable not only for carbon sequestration but also for introducing practical technology to communities in Timor-Leste, supporting their engagement in environmental solutions."
Daniel Baharestani
Tech Lead, Thoughtworks
The collaboration between Thoughtworks and the xpand Foundation continues, aiming to further optimize this system. The web-based analytics platform has the potential to help scale the business up to support more farmers planting more trees.