Google, McKinsey and Tencent sign 635,000-tonne nature-based carbon removal deals with Thryve.Earth
Thryve.Earth signed 10-year deals with Google, McKinsey and Tencent to remove 635,000 tonnes of carbon by restoring 6,000 hectares in Sulawesi.
Photo by Michal Pech on Pexels
Singapore-based project developer Thryve.Earth has signed long-term nature-based carbon removal deals with Google, McKinsey and Tencent to remove more than 635,000 tonnes of carbon, the company and the Symbiosis Coalition announced on July 8, 2026. The 10-year offtake agreements fund a new agroforestry project that will restore 6,000 hectares of degraded land in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The deals are Thryve’s first corporate offtakes, the largest carbon removal commitment to date for Google, and Tencent’s first nature-based purchase outside China.
An offtake agreement is a promise to buy future output, here the carbon a forest will remove as it grows. That volume and price certainty is what lets a developer raise the money to plant in the first place.
Inside the nature-based carbon removal project
The site sits in Sulawesi, one of the most biodiverse and carbon-rich regions on Earth, where tropical rainforest has been heavily degraded by shifting agriculture, soil erosion and invasive species. Rather than fencing the land off, Thryve plans a mixed-crop system with three planting layers: an upper canopy of sugar palm and timber trees, a middle layer of papaya, avocado, coffee and banana, and ground-level annual crops such as chili and corn.
Thryve says the design should also improve soil health, cut fire risk and raise biodiversity, while giving local farmers diversified income and paid work in planting, nursery work, early maintenance and clearing invasive grasses. Ron Steinherz, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer, said the effort is “above all, an operational challenge,” and that pairing quality saplings and field protocols with “verifiable monitoring of every hectare” is what makes the removals “real, measurable, and built to last.”
Who is buying, and how much
The 635,000-tonne total splits into two commitments. Google and McKinsey account for more than 335,000 tonnes through the Symbiosis Coalition, a corporate buyers’ group for nature-based removals; Tencent signed a separate deal for 300,000 tonnes. For the Symbiosis Coalition, it is the third carbon removal project to date and its first in agroforestry.
| Buyer | Channel | Carbon removal (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Google and McKinsey | Symbiosis Coalition | 335,000+ |
| Tencent | Direct offtake | 300,000 |
| Total | 635,000+ |
Source: Symbiosis Coalition and Thryve.Earth, 8 July 2026, reported by “ESG Today”.
Julia Strong, executive director of the Symbiosis Coalition, said the long-term offtakes “give the Thryve team the certainty they need to build at scale.” The deals arrive as corporate buyers face scrutiny over whether nature-based credits deliver the removals they claim, which is why Thryve stresses per-hectare monitoring. Readers can find background on how these purchases are structured and priced in the Winss explainer on what voluntary carbon markets are.
About Thryve.Earth and the Symbiosis Coalition
Thryve.Earth, founded in 2022, develops nature-based carbon projects across South and Southeast Asia that restore ecosystems while working with local communities. The Sulawesi project is its first corporate offtake and its move from project development into supplying credits at volume.
The Symbiosis Coalition is a buyers’ group formed by large technology companies to purchase high-integrity nature-based removals and send a demand signal to developers. Its agreement with Thryve is its third project and its first using agroforestry, a model that keeps land in food production while rebuilding tree cover. For Google, the deal is its largest carbon removal commitment so far; for Tencent, it is a first step into nature-based removals beyond its home market, and a test of whether a degraded Indonesian grassland can be turned back into productive, carbon-storing forest.
Sources: Symbiosis Coalition; ESG Today; Google
Featured image: photo by Michal Pech on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
