Alberami is an Italian Benefit Company that aims to regenerate degraded ecosystems, transforming compromised territories into resources for CO₂ capture. Its activities enter the carbon credit market with a clear ambition: not only to offset emissions, but to remove them, thanks to regenerative agricultural practices and agroforestry projects.
Alberami works with farmers to promote the transition to an agricultural model that combines environmental sustainability, land valorisation and social and economic benefits.
Francesco Musardo, founder and CEO, describes Alberami’s mission as a true ‘Green Renaissance’, inspired by the ability to look beyond the symptoms of a problem to understand its root causes. The Good in Town had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing him:
‘We started with a specific problem: the Xylella bacterium, which is devastating Apulia’s olive groves. But we soon realised that the problem was not just the tree: it was the ecosystem as a whole. If the olive tree suffers, it is because the soil is degraded, because the whole relationship between soil, air and environment is compromised. It is not enough to cure the tree: you have to regenerate the system,‘ says Francesco.
This broad vision led Alberami to develop an integrated approach that places farmers at the heart of the change.
“Farmers are the natural custodians of these ecosystems. For too long, they have borne the consequences of degradation. Now they can not only contribute to regeneration but also directly benefit from a model that recognizes the value of their care and stewardship of the land. Regenerating means restoring the soil, the environment, and the olive trees to a healthy relationship, as it was originally.”
Beyond the human and philosophical dimension of the ‘Green Renaissance’—rooted in the social and ecological regeneration of ecosystems – Alberami introduces a key technical element: the how of enacting this change. Technology, a valuable resource we now have at our disposal, makes it possible to overcome the limitations of the past and scale regeneration on a large scale.
“In our project, technology plays a fundamental role in making every intervention more efficient and scalable. Manually working on each plant or every square meter of soil is possible, but limited. To transform a local intervention into a nationwide action, it is essential to create a system, leveraging technological innovations to address hectares of land rather than just small areas. It is thanks to this evolution that we can expand the scope of action and involve an increasing number of farmers in the regeneration effort.”
The culture of carbon credits: from scepticism to opportunity
In recent years, the carbon credit market has experienced a real cultural maturation that has made a concept that was initially greeted with scepticism more accessible and understandable.
Francesco says that when they started talking about regeneration and carbon credits to farmers, many were confused.
“Four years ago, farmers often scoffed at the idea. They didn’t understand whether they were supposed to buy or sell credits, invest, or take on additional work. But the point has always been to economically value something they were already doing: their commitment to caring for the land.”
The engagment of farmers is based on a crucial component of the project: stakeholder consultation.“We make presentations at cooperatives or farmers’ groups to explain the system. We show them how, through careful and quality management, carbon credits can gain value and become a new source of income. This work has allowed us to build an increasingly informed and participative farmer base. Today, questions of mistrust are less and less frequent. We have overcome that initial phase of scepticism, and farmers have realised that this is not an additional burden, but a concrete enhancement of their work.”
Valuing something that already has intrinsic worthis a key principle for Alberami. When the farmers’ involvement is genuine and their work of high quality, the carbon credits generated also reflect this quality, standing out in the market.
“Our carbon farming project only produces 100% removal credits. That is, credits that actually remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. These are high quality credits that are required by those seeking solutions that go beyond simply avoiding emissions, as is the case with forestry projects related to avoidance credits.”
The difference between removal and avoidance is both technical and strategic. Removal credits are those that the market today seeks for quality transactions.
“We chose the ICR registry and collaborate with Carbon Check, a validation body that annually verifies our standards. This ensures that every regenerated hectare produces credits of internationally recognized value. There’s a genuine ‘flight to quality’ underway, a shift toward higher-quality credits, aligned with the growing demands of companies.”
About three years ago, Alberami made a strategic decision by choosing ICR as the registry for its project, focusing on an innovative and flexible system.
“At the time, ICR was not yet a well-known name, but its openness to complex approaches, such as integrating carbon sequestration in soil and biomass, proved to be crucial. Today, ICR is in the final stage of obtaining ICROA accreditation, a milestone that will position it among the most prestigious registries, confirming the validity of our choice.”
Growing numbers and measurable impacts
From 2022 to date, Alberami has expanded its reach from 1,500 regenerated hectares to 6,200, with the ambitious goal of reaching 250,000 hectares by 2030. Every year, the Alberami team calculates the credits generated based on the measurements taken, in a process that combines technical precision and continuous improvement.
But Alberami’s impact goes far beyond carbon farming. The company’s model is designed to generate tangible co-benefits that positively affect the environment and society.
“We measure the effects of regenerative practices not only in terms of carbon removal, but also on crucial aspects such as soil health, biodiversity and community well-being.”
To ensure this, every year Alberami submits a questionnaire to farmers based on the SDGs that the company has identified as relevant for its projects.
“This data allows us to monitor progress and renew our commitment for the following year, implementing improvements or assigning new tasks. The aim is to grow, not only in terms of regenerated surfaces, but also in the quality of our impact.”
The future of the carbon credit market
Alberami does not stop at Italian borders. With pilot projects already underway in Lebanon and Brazil, it aims to expand its global footprint, always keeping quality as its top priority.
“The demand for high quality credits is increasing, partly due to regulations such as CSRD, which will oblige companies to report and offset their emissions. However, our approach remains focused on transparency and value creation for farmers.”
Despite progress, the market still faces several challenges.
‘Standards are still not uniform, and there is a need to educate clearing companies to ensure that new markets, such as biodiversity credits, remain complementary rather than competitive.”
Alberami’s commitment is reflected in a simple but powerful mantra: ‘Do your best, offset the rest.’ Offsetting, for Francesco, must be a last resort, but when it is chosen, it must be done right.
‘Offsetting means taking responsibility with quality and transparency. Only in this way can we build a truly sustainable future.’
A recognition of quality: the BeZero Carbon rating
On 22 November 2024, Alberami’s AgroEcology_Italy project was awarded a prestigious ‘BBB’ rating by BeZero Carbon, an achievement that confirms the quality and reliability of its voluntary carbon credits. BeZero, an independent rating agency based in London, uses a rigorous scale to assess the likelihood that carbon credits represent an actual tonne of CO₂ avoided or removed, providing transparency and confidence for buyers and investors. Alberami’s rating ranks them as: best NBS (Nature-Based Solutions) Removal project on BeZero; best Soil-Related Agricultural Practices project on BeZero; VI NBS project globally on BeZero.
