The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and climate technology startup Planboo today announced the launch of a new project that will pilot the production and use of biochar on cotton farms in India to drive, measure and monetise environmental improvements, and assess its scalability within the sector.
The project, which is due to start in February 2026, will see at least 75 farmers transform agricultural waste from January’s cotton harvest into biochar – a charcoal-like substance that can improve soil health and store carbon in the ground for more than a century.
Lars van Doremalen, Director of Impact at the Better Cotton Initiative, said: “Since announcing our partnership with Planboo in September, we have been working to identify the locations and partners required to test this promising solution. Biochar holds the potential to unlock huge greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon removals while fortifying farming communities against the effects of climate change.”
In Gujarat and Maharashtra, three kilns will be installed capable of processing 375 tonnes of agricultural waste and yielding 60-70 tonnes of biochar. Farmers will be offered training in February 2026 to demonstrate how they can use the kilns to produce biochar and transition away from commonly practised crop residue burning
Throughout the project, Planboo’s digital Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRVin) system will capture data points from the production of biochar to the calculation of carbon removals.
This end-to-end software accurately calculates waste inputs, biochar volumes, carbon removals, and in turn streamlines the availability of carbon data. The quantification of carbon reductions and removals using this data will create new income streams for communities.
Freddie Catlow, Founder of Planboo, said: “Cotton farmers are sitting on an unrealised asset, their crop residues, currently going up in smoke. With Planboo’s MRVin technology, farmers can learn, burn and earn by turning their waste into biochar. This durable, accredited form of carbon removal, builds resilience into soils, supporting farmers, the foundation of the cotton textile industry.”
The project will conclude in 2026 at which time BCI will share project learnings and outcomes with its members. The project will measure how biochar influences key agricultural indicators such as crop yield, water retention, as well as data on reduced farm level emissions and carbon removed.
In the longer term, both BCI and Planboo will assess the potential to take this approach to scale by demonstrating the value it can provide from environmental and economic improvements at the field level to Scope 3 reduction data and carbon credits.
Notes to Editors
- The Better Cotton Initiative and Planboo announced their partnership in September 2025.
- Cotton farmers often burn crop waste following the season’s harvest, polluting the air and posing a health hazard.
- Biochar is a charcoal-like substance made from agricultural waste and other waste products. It is responsible for 92% of the world’s carbon removals.
- Biochar has the potential to store 6% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
- Carbon reduction and removal achieved using biochar will be traced and certified according to Carbon Standard International’s Global Artisan C-Sink Guidelines.
- BCI Programme Partners the Ambuja Foundation and Action for Food Protection (AFPRO) will support participating farmers across Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- Retailers and brands can support the scaling of the project and stand to benefit from its outcomes as it can directly address Scope 3 emissions, which account for the vast majority of greenhouse gas release by the fashion and textile industries.
- Producing and applying biochar can generate high-value carbon removal credits. This pilot study is also exploring how biochar could be used for insetting, helping retailers and brands with their supply chain decarbonisation efforts.
- BCI’s partnership with Planboo is one in a series of projects focused on climate action. BCI is an implementing partner of the Unlock project and collaborates with Indigo Ag for a carbon emission reduction and soil carbon project in the USA.
Contacts
For more information and media requests, please contact Better Cotton Initiative PR & Media Coordinator, Chris Remington ([email protected]).