• Netflix commits to a 15-year purchase of carbon credits from AFF’s Fields & Forests project.
• Agreement targets 75,000 acres and 4.8 million credits by 2032, benefiting small landowners in the U.S. South.
• Innovative financing through milestone prepayments lowers barriers for family landowners historically excluded from carbon markets.

A New Model for Corporate-Backed Forestry

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) has secured a 15-year contract with Netflix to purchase verified carbon credits generated through its Fields & Forests (F&F) program, an initiative designed to convert underutilized farmland into working forests. The agreement, announced this week, will support the project’s initial 6,000-acre rollout and lay the groundwork for scaling across the U.S. South.

For Netflix, the partnership provides long-term access to nature-based carbon removal while supporting rural livelihoods. For AFF, the deal signals private capital’s growing role in financing reforestation at scale.

Financing Mechanism and Market Access

The contract is structured through milestone prepayments, an approach where Netflix advances funds tied to measurable outcomes such as acres enrolled. This upfront financing enables AFF to cover land preparation, tree planting, and ongoing technical support for participants—services that have traditionally priced small landowners out of the voluntary carbon market.

To date, F&F has enrolled 2,500 acres, committed $2 million in direct payments to landowners, and is on track to plant 1.4 million trees. By 2032, the program aims to expand to 75,000 acres, producing an estimated 4.8 million carbon credits.

“Netflix’s partnership shows what’s possible when business and nature come together,” said John Ringer, Senior Director of Project Finance and Environmental Markets at AFF. “With the right investment and science, natural climate solutions can be both a powerful and credible tool to address our most pressing conservation challenges.”

RELATED ARTICLE: Netflix and RespectAbility Partner On Program for Disabled Children’s Content Writers and Animators

Family Landowners at the Center

Fields & Forests is designed to serve small-acreage landowners, a group often excluded from carbon markets due to high transaction costs and technical hurdles. AFF assumes responsibility for planting, monitoring, and long-term management, while landowners receive annual payments over 30-year contracts.

For participants, the project combines environmental impact with intergenerational wealth. “This land is my only connection to my grandma. And I want it to provide for my daughter as she grows up,” said Alisha Logue, a Georgia landowner enrolled in F&F. “Fields & Forests has given me a way to protect and ensure my family’s legacy.”

Broader Market and Policy Implications

The deal comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny over carbon markets. Integrity concerns have slowed corporate adoption, but structured partnerships like F&F’s—with clear verification standards and community benefits—are designed to restore trust.

For companies, long-term agreements offer a hedge against tightening climate regulations and evolving disclosure requirements, including the SEC’s proposed climate-related reporting framework and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Securing credible, verifiable credits may soon become a compliance necessity rather than a voluntary choice.

The U.S. South, with its vast tracts of privately owned farmland, represents one of the most significant opportunities for scaled afforestation. Yet success depends on mobilizing capital to overcome structural barriers faced by smallholders. Netflix’s financing approach provides a potential blueprint for future corporate participation in nature-based solutions.

Takeaway for Executives and Investors

For corporate sustainability officers and investors, the AFF-Netflix partnership highlights three critical lessons:

• Structure matters: Innovative financing mechanisms such as milestone prepayments can unlock participation from landowners otherwise excluded.
• Scale requires community buy-in: Embedding rural livelihoods into carbon projects builds social resilience alongside climate impact.
• Long-term commitments are strategic: Securing verifiable credits over 15 years positions companies ahead of shifting regulatory landscapes.

As voluntary carbon markets face both skepticism and rising demand, the Fields & Forests model offers a test case for how private capital, rural communities, and climate objectives can align. What happens in the pine fields of the U.S. South may help define how global corporations engage with nature-based solutions in the decade ahead.

Follow ESG News on LinkedIn