Who we are
Peak body
The Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) is the national peak body supporting First Nations engagement in the carbon industry. The company is owned by its Full Members including 26 Indigenous organisations that produce carbon credits through their land management activities, caring for country.
The network provides a point of contact for policies impacting the Indigenous carbon industry, supports knowledge sharing through events, working groups and updates, and is committed to ensuring Indigenous groups right across Australia are well-positioned to understand and maximise the benefits from carbon projects for their country and community.
Registered charity
The ICIN is incorporated as a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity for the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people in rural/regional/remote communities, with the following subtypes:
- Advancing education
- Advancing social or public welfare
- Advancing culture
- Advancing the natural environment
- Public benevolent institution (PBI)
Our Mission
Our Mission is to promote and facilitate an active, innovative and Indigenous-led carbon industry supporting healthy country and better livelihoods for Indigenous people.
We are the Indigenous carbon voice. We want to be at the table with decision-makers and included in policy development.” Suzanne Thompson, YACHATDAC (speaking at the Carbon Market Institute Summit, 2022)
Indigenous owned and led
We are Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-led, with a Board including seven Aboriginal leaders with experience in the carbon industry who are elected by our members, led by our Co-Chairs, Cissy Gore-Birch and Dean Yibarbuk. Our Full Members include Australia’s largest land councils; the Kimberley Land Council, Northern Land Council, Central Land Council as well as Balkanu Development Corporation (Cape York Council), Tiwi Resources (Tiwi Islands), along with the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance.
Our Associate members are indigenous organisations who do not own projects, but have an interest in carbon farming, including the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and Indigenous Desert Alliance. We also work with other Indigenous organisations, government and NGOs to support engagement.
Indigenous organisations interested in joining the ICIN, please Contact Us
Trusted source of information
ICIN is fully commercially independent and has a high degree of expertise in the carbon industry. We are a highly trusted source of information about the carbon industry.
We are a grassroots organisation formed by Indigenous organisations with carbon projects in 2018. Since registering as a charitable company in 2021, the demand for our services, trusted information and expertise has grown exponentially, meaning we are now entering a period of high growth that is articulated in our Strategic Business Plan.
ICIN has published several key guides to the carbon industry targeted to Indigenous organisations, including the best practice guidelines, Seeking Free, Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous Communities for Carbon Projects and Indigenous Carbon Projects Guide, which we will be reviewing in light of recent policy changes and publishing a second edition in April.
ICIN hosts two major Indigenous-led events; the annual North Australian Savanna Fire Forum (February) and the National Indigenous Carbon Forum (May). These events are critical to supporting First Nations people from across Australia to learn about the carbon industry and to inform our work enabling and empowering Indigenous communities through the carbon industry.
Benefit to the environment and communities
Our members are currently producing around 1.2 million carbon credits each year through 35 Indigenous-owned savanna fire management projects and several Indigenous-owned vegetation projects. Indigenous carbon projects not only earn carbon credits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they directly and indirectly provide a range of high value co-benefits, including:
- Biodiversity benefits
- Increased Indigenous employment
- Protection of Indigenous cultural sites
- Social benefits from investment of carbon revenue
The Indigenous carbon industry generates around $59 million worth of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) annually across northern Australia through the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) compliance and voluntary markets. Collectively, they employ hundreds of Indigenous people in some of Australia's most remote places, resulting in stronger and better functioning communities because of increased revenue flows.
Indigenous-owned carbon projects across Australia are making a huge difference to our lives through creating jobs and supporting opportunities for Indigenous people to care for country.” Cissy Gore-Birch, Co-Chair (speaking at the Carbon Market Institute Summit, 2022)
Our Values
- Strategic and Focused: Our purpose is clear and connected to our actions
- Genuine, Indigenous-led, accessible and member-driven: We work together to support each other from the ground up, by ensuring decision-making is driven by our members.
- Empowering and Inclusive: We support more Indigenous voices to be heard and seek to maximise benefits to Indigenous communities by enabling greater Indigenous engagement in the carbon industry.
- Respectful: We acknowledge that we all come from different places, yet we seek common ground where we find it. We respect local cultural protocols and are mindful that our industry is grounded in thousands of years of traditional knowledge and practices.
- Transparent and Accountable: We are a trusted voice for the industry through our reputation for practicing good governance and by supporting two-way communication throughout the network.
- Innovative and Adaptive: We are an emerging network, so we will adapt to members needs as they change. We are innovative in our work and want to learn as we grow.
- Independent and Not-for-Profit: We do not have any commercial interest in the carbon market other than seeking to enhance benefits for all Indigenous carbon businesses across Australia.
