Agricultural Biomass Sourcing for CDR: A Buyer's Guide
Biomass-based CDR made up 95%+ of high-durability carbon removal in 2025, yet no framework governed agricultural residue sourcing. Relae built this guide, in collaboration with Microsoft and Stripe, to give buyers concrete criteria to embed in contracts today.
Key takeaways:
- Agricultural residues aren't free inputs. Sourcing without safeguards puts soil health, livelihoods, and credit integrity at risk.
- Four principles address key risks: traceability, community and worker protection, soil health, and market integrity.
- Buyers who embed these criteria today will shape how biomass-based CDR scales and protect long-term supply access.
Madison Bueno
Madison Bueno
Madison Bueno is a petroleum engineer by background, and is using her professional and academic experience in energy to evaluate carbon removal technologies and projects. At Relae, Madison supports reviews of hybrid carbon management projects to produce high-value assessments for advancement and de-risking of decarbonization outcomes. Prior to joining Relae, Madison worked as both a Petroleum Engineer in upstream oil and gas operations, as well as an Environmental Engineer for an environmental consulting firm. Her experience involved air quality permitting and general environmental compliance, serving clients in a variety of industries. She also served as a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Verifier in the state of California.
Sagar Patel
Sagar Patel
Prior to Relae, Sagar worked within voluntary carbon markets, where he guided clients in the development of carbon assets and conducted due diligence on potential advanced market commitments. His efforts ensured the integrity and efficacy of decarbonization initiatives.
Before transitioning into the climate space, Sagar served as a project and systems integration engineer in the civil space industry. In this role, he led the implementation of hardware systems through various design phases, demonstrating a strong capability in project management and technical integration.
With a comprehensive understanding of both the carbon market landscape and the technical challenges of project implementation, Sagar brings a holistic approach to advancing carbon removal technologies and strategies.
