Brightly, a climate and food waste solutions company, has achieved the initial issuance of Verra carbon credits under a specialized methodology focused on reducing food loss and waste in the United States. The project generated 721,649 Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) by evaluating edible surplus food recovered and distributed for human consumption between March 2020 and December 2023. Developed in collaboration with 198 Feeding America partner food banks and 28 independent nonprofit food rescue groups, the initiative quantifies the greenhouse gas emissions avoided when surplus food is redirected away from landfills and municipal waste streams.

Organic waste management remains a critical challenge for greenhouse gas mitigation, as discarded food in landfills anaerobicly decomposes to produce substantial methane emissions. While organic diversion strategies like composting and thermochemical conversion address waste management, recovering edible food directly for human consumption faces capital constraints and logistical bottlenecks across collection networks. Food rescue nonprofits typically lack reliable, long-term financing mechanisms to expand physical collection capacity, maintain cold-chain logistics, and secure necessary operational staffing.

To address these financial and operational hurdles, Brightly utilized Verra’s VM0046 methodology to quantify avoided emissions and monetize food rescue activities within the voluntary carbon market. The project gathered operational data across 15.3 billion pounds of rescued food, applying historical baselines and accounting for project-related operational emissions to yield 3.1 billion pounds of qualifying surplus food. Independent validation and verification were conducted by SCS Global Services, and the resulting carbon credits received an A ex-ante rating from BeZero Carbon, confirming high carbon integrity and alignment with metric ton emission reduction benchmarks.

The issuance of 721,649 VCUs establishes a precedent for integrating food waste mitigation directly into voluntary carbon finance frameworks. Brightly plans to return the majority of net proceeds from credit sales directly to participating food rescue organizations across all 50 U.S. states. This capital injection will directly fund essential operational infrastructure, including transport vehicles, drivers, cold-storage refrigeration, and support staff, enabling a sustained expansion of food diversion and regional waste reduction operations.