CRM solutions provider Salesforce announced that it has signed a new agreement with agricultural methane emissions reduction startup Mitti Labs to purchase 500,000 carbon credits over the next five years, to be generated from projects enabling tens of thousands of smallholder farmers in India to adopt sustainable practices to reduce methane emissions.
Rice cultivation, which typically involves continuously flooding paddy fields, accounts for approximately 12% of global methane emissions, making it the second-largest source of agricultural methane emissions after livestock. Climate-smart rice farming uses alternate wetting and drying (AWD) practices, allowing fields to dry periodically during the growing cycle, reducing methane emissions from oxygen-depleted soils. The practice can reduce methane emissions by up to 50% and water use by up to 40%, without affecting crop yields.
According to the IPCC, superpollutants, which can include gases such as methane emitted from sources including agriculture and waste, are responsible for almost half of global warming to date, with elimination of these elements presenting one of the most powerful near-term tools to address climate change. While most superpollutants typically remain in the atmosphere for less time than CO2, they can trap heat tens to thousands of times more powerfully.
The new agreement follows Salesforce’s participation earlier this year, alongside Amazon, Autodesk, Figma, Google, JPMorganChase, and Workday, in the launch earlier this year of the Superpollutant Action Initiative, aimed at channeling $100 million to solutions to accelerate the reduction of superpollutants.
Jamila Yamani, PhD., Director of Climate & Energy at Salesforce, said:
“We know that superpollutant reduction is one of the best ways to slow near-term warming, and we are committed to directing capital toward high-impact mitigation efforts. Reducing methane emissions from rice farming is a scalable climate solution that also helps preserve water resources for future generations.”
Founded in 2023, Mitti Labs develops solutions using artificial intelligence, satellite technology and field operations to reduce methane emissions and water consumption from rice farming. The company’s GeoAI platform, developed with support from NASA, uses satellite radar imagery and field-collected data to monitor flooding, soil moisture and crop health, providing evidence to verify emissions reductions associated with carbon credits.
In addition to reducing emissions, Mitti Labs said that the new agreement is expected to save 700 billion liters of water, equivalent to approximately 18 months of Bengaluru’s annual water supply, helping reduce pressure on groundwater resources in regions where agricultural, urban and industrial users compete for water.
Mitti Labs plans to issue 2 million carbon credits annually by 2028 from projects in India and Southeast Asia.
The partnership follows an agreement between Mitti Labs and Google in September 2026 for the purchase of one million carbon credits over four years, which marked the tech giant’s largest superpollutant carbon credit agreement to date.
Xavier Laguarta, co-founder at Mitti Labs, said:
“Carbon credit buyers are increasingly asking not just what impact a project delivers, but how they can see it for themselves. Having Salesforce join Google in backing rice methane reductions shows that high-integrity, data-verified agricultural credits are becoming a core part of serious climate offsetting strategies. This agreement lets us reach tens of thousands more farmers with practices that cut emissions, save water and strengthen livelihoods.”
