Finite Carbon’s Northeast Carry Woodlands IFM Project Receives AA Rating from MSCI

Finite Carbon's Northeast Carry Woodlands IFM Project Receives AA Rating from MSCI

Finite Carbon is pleased to announce that its Northeast Carry Woodlands Improved Forest Management (IFM) project (ACR910) has received an outstanding AA rating from MSCI Carbon Project Ratings, making it MSCI's top-rated North American (US/Canada) IFM project, and only one of two IFM projects globally rated AA. The project also achieved top 10% among all MSCI assessed IFM projects for additionality, co-benefits, legal and ethical performance, and delivery risk. This recognition underscores the project's high emissions impact and implementation integrity, along with its conservative carbon accounting approach, strong governance, and capacity to deliver lasting climate, environmental, and community benefits through long-term sustainable forest management.

MSCI Carbon Project Ratings provide an independent assessment of carbon project quality and risk, designed to help carbon credit buyers and investors evaluate project integrity. Projects are assessed across six key areas: additionality, quantification, permanence, co-benefits, legal and ethical risk, and delivery risk. The assessment draws on project documentation, economic modelling, third-party information, and geospatial analysis, providing buyers and investors with a standardized framework for comparing project quality and risk.

MSCI recently ranked first for perceived quality and usefulness among ESG ratings providers in the ERM Sustainability Institute's 2026 Rate the Raters investor survey.^[1]

"The Northeast Carry Woodlands project being recognized as MSCI's top-rated IFM project marks an important milestone," said D. Ben Benoit, Manager. "It reflects our commitment to quality and integrity that has guided this project from the beginning and further demonstrates our long-term approach to responsible and sustainable forest stewardship. We are proud to deliver a high-integrity carbon project that supports healthy forests and Northern Maine's rural economy."

"Earning an AA rating from MSCI is a significant achievement for the Northeast Carry Woodlands project," said Dylan Jenkins, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Finite Carbon. "For buyers, this kind of independent assessment provides another level of confidence in the quality and integrity behind the credits. It reflects the rigor that went into the project's design and quantification, backed by strong forest management practices."

Key assessment results include:

• Received an AA rating.
• Top-rated North American (US/Canada) IFM project.
• Placed in the top 10% for additionality, recognizing that the project's limited commercial harvesting is below annual growth and materially below the modelled baseline.
• Placed in the top 10% for co-benefits, reflecting the project's significant positive contributions to biodiversity conservation, local economic activity, recreational access, and the protection of ecologically significant forest habitat.
• Placed in the top 10% for legal and ethical performance, recognizing strong governance, secure land ownership, and a low-risk operating environment.
• Placed in the top 10% for delivery risk, reflecting very low assessed risk, supported by secure private land tenure, Finite Carbon's development track record, and no identified land-use conflicts or disputes.

MSCI's assessment further recognized the project's conservative approach to carbon quantification and its positive co-benefits, including support for working forest economic activity, recreational access, native habitat retention, riparian and wetland protections, and documented habitat for species of conservation significance, including Canada lynx and American marten.

About the Project

The Northeast Carry Woodlands project is part of the Buck family's stewardship of more than one million acres across Maine's northern forest. The 212,806-acre project encompasses a diverse landscape of northern hardwood and softwood forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. The family's long-term approach is focused on sustainable management of these working forests for future generations while supporting ecological health and Northern Maine's rural economy.

Developed under ACR's IFM v2.1 methodology, the project maintains harvest levels below annual forest growth to increase carbon storage while continuing responsible forest management and timber production. The project is also independently certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Management practices include enhanced protections for riparian areas, waterways, wetlands, and wildlife habitat, while also supporting local livelihoods and recreational access. As one of the first and largest projects registered under ACR's IFM v2.1 methodology, all Northeast Carry Woodlands removal credits carry the Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's designation for high-quality carbon credits.

About Finite Carbon

Finite Carbon is a leading developer and supplier of forest carbon credits in North America. The company partners with landowners to deliver natural climate solutions and bring high-quality carbon credits to market. Since 2009, Finite has developed over 60 forest carbon projects covering 4 million acres in both the voluntary and compliance markets. To date, the company has developed and transacted over 100 million offsets, representing over $1 billion in revenue to forest landowners. The company's mission is to protect and restore forests, promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. These efforts also provide co-benefits, including clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and forest jobs, while leaving an enduring legacy for current and future generations.

For more information on our portfolio of high-quality forest carbon projects, visit finitecarbon.com or marketplace.finitecarbon.com.

To learn more about the Northeast Carry Woodlands project and its MSCI Carbon Project Rating assessment, contact Finite Carbon.

^[1] ERM Sustainability Institute. (2026). Rate the Raters 2026: Beyond the Score - Investor Views on ESG Ratings, pp. 17-18.