Microsoft Signs 1.8 Million Ton Carbon Removal Deal to Restore African Rainforest

Forest restoration company Rainforest Builder has signed a multi-year agreement with Microsoft to deliver up to 1.8 million carbon removal credits generated from a large-scale ecosystem restoration project in Sierra Leone.

The 15-year agreement is described as one of the largest carbon removal transactions in Africa to date. The credits will be sourced from Rainforest Builder’s Project Buffalo, a reforestation initiative targeting degraded land within the Upper Guinean Forest region.

Founded in 2022, Rainforest Builder focuses on restoring forest ecosystems in one of Africa’s most degraded landscapes, where approximately 90 percent of original forest cover has been cleared. The company currently operates four projects and has planted more than 1.8 million trees to date.

 

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Project Buffalo and Ecological Impact

 

Project Buffalo is expected to plant more than 10 million trees across 15,000 hectares of degraded land. Beyond carbon sequestration, the initiative aims to restore biodiversity by creating protected habitats for threatened plant and animal species.

Rainforest Builder also highlighted the project’s social impact. The initiative is expected to provide direct employment to more than 1,200 people and support local communities through a benefit-sharing programme. This includes improvements in smallholder agriculture, road infrastructure and the establishment of a community development fund.

Edward Stephenson, Co-CEO of Rainforest Builder, said the agreement signals growing recognition of West Africa’s role in global carbon markets. He noted that while the region has experienced severe forest degradation, it has historically attracted less attention from carbon finance compared to other geographies.

 

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Microsoft’s Expanding Carbon Removal Portfolio

 

The agreement forms part of Microsoft’s broader climate strategy, which includes a commitment to become carbon negative by 2030 and to remove by 2050 the equivalent of all carbon the company has emitted since its founding.

Microsoft has emerged as the largest corporate purchaser of carbon removal credits. In 2025, the company reported signing agreements covering a record 45 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide removal.

Phillip Goodman, Director of Carbon Removal at Microsoft, said the partnership supports reforestation and the growth of carbon removal markets in West Africa. He emphasized that Project Buffalo aligns with Microsoft’s priorities of scientific integrity and community engagement as it advances toward its 2030 carbon negative target.

With this agreement, Microsoft deepens its investment in nature-based carbon removal while channeling capital toward ecosystem restoration and community development in one of the world’s most ecologically significant yet degraded forest regions.