2022 was a ride for Puro.earth and the carbon removal industry. We are starting to see some real traction as the world is turning towards the fact that without removals we will not achieve our climate goals. We have loads to celebrate🎉! Let's wrap up 2022 with a summary of the journey.

Puro Standard meets the challenges

As the leading carbon crediting standard for engineered carbon removal, Puro Standard continued to provide stringent science-focused methodologies for the most scalable and durable carbon removal solutions and championed transparency.

Early in the year, we released the 2022 update to the market’s first Biochar methodology, which we originally released in 2019. Including the latest research and feedback from project developers, CORC buyers and auditors, the methodology allows more biomass sources, is technology agnostic and continues to be the most accurate methodology in carbon net-negativity quantification and MRV processes. 

We also brought to market two new methodologies, Woody Biomass Burial and Enhanced Rock Weathering, firsts in the world and co-created with working groups of scientists, carbon market experts and project developers. 

To increase transparency in the whole voluntary carbon market, we launched Puro Registry - a user-friendly online platform where anyone can view CO2 Removal Certificate (CORC) issuances and retirements, and search to verify if a corporation has used CORCs to neutralize emissions.

Raising our climate ambition, from January 2023 all Puro Standard methodologies will require a minimum of 100 years of carbon storage. Our portf​olio covers the whole range of permanence of carbon removal from hundreds of years to geological timescales!

Puro.earth grows the market

In June 2021, Nasdaq acquired a majority stake in Puro.earth, propelling our growth. Their support has meant that the CORC is more than ever a clear option for corporations who want to add carbon removal to their ESG and sustainability goals, and Puro.earth can continue to bring innovations and access to the market.

In 2022, we issued 225,000 CORCs, representing 225,000 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere, that's 250% growth from 2021! Trading value increased 350% from 2021. Some of the CORC purchases were already agreed as offtake agreements and Pre-CORCs in prior years and were delivered in 2022. This reinforces how planning ahead with a portfolio of future carbon removals is paying off and helping companies fulfill climate pledges.

27 new carbon removal suppliers joined Puro.earth and supply now originates from 27 countries in 5 continents, 10 more than last year.

Our team grew from 11 to 28 people, joined by an impressive team of advisors as our external Advisory Board with expertise on international carbon markets, climate science and climate policy to assist us to scale the carbon removal market.

To maximize CORC distribution capacity, we strengthened our relationships with an incredible ecosystem of companies who offer their marketplaces, brokerage and trading services, lifecycle assessments, and other services to CORC buyers and suppliers. The number of sales channel partners and traders who sell CORCs to their clients has grown to 31 organizations including Watershed, Invert, Pledge, Patch, Supercritical and Cloverly. See our Partners page for details.

In collaboration with Nasdaq, we also increased market transparency by launching the world’s first commodity Reference Price Indexes for Carbon Removal, to track the price of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help corporates understand the true cost of neutralizing their emissions. The indexes create a price signal that stimulate growth of the carbon removal ecosystem by supporting the business case for new projects and helping potential investors make better informed decisions.

We launched Puro Accelerate, the program to scale the carbon removal ecosystem by enabling buyers to purchase future CO2 Removal Certificates, CORCs, from projects in development through advance market commitments and Pre-CORCs, a digital asset to facilitate pre-payments. Buyers taking part in this initiative are enabling projects to get off the ground as they help secure future cash flow needed to raise funding.

Technology to scale the market

Puro.earth’s tech team just released new features for future supplier onboarding, reducing the amount of work required for new suppliers to join the platform and giving the Puro.earth team more time to focus on the specific needs of each new supplier.

In Q1 2023, the first phase of the Puro Supplier Portal will be launched, where suppliers will be able to view their CORC inventory, facility information, and upcoming audits easily. We strive to help our suppliers with the best service to make their CORC issuance and sales easy. About their experience, one of our suppliers said: “Puro.earth opens doors!”

Multiple geographies

We opened an Asia-Pacific regional office in Singapore, making it easier for suppliers and buyers to join the carbon removal imperative.

We certified our first suppliers in Africa and Latin America, adding to the list of places where we can scale the carbon removal market.

If the same trend continues we will reach Gigaton level before 2030, and then we'll have just enough time to remove the rest before 2050 🚀.

Strong partnerships for growth and impact

In 2022, we pursued partnerships that will help us scale the market and service our suppliers better.

We became a founding member of the Carbon Business Council, a collection of carbon management companies working to reverse climate change and advocate for the responsible growth of the industry. We partnered with XPRIZE Carbon Removal to assist competing teams to enter the carbon markets. We have a strategic partnership with Climate Impact X, CIX, to increase access to quality carbon removal credits and support the development of dynamic carbon credit portfolios – as articulated by the Oxford Offsetting Principles – which progressively increase the volume of long-term carbon removal credits.

We partnered with Kita to offer corporate buyers non-delivery insurance for biochar CORCs. Insurance will reduce transaction risk and accelerate upfront financing for projects.

We were granted membership to the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). IETA members seek to develop an emissions trading regime that results in real and verifiable greenhouse gas emission reductions, while balancing economic efficiency with environmental integrity and social equity.

We are partners to Microsoft in their Environmental Credit Service offering, a Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solution. The new feature will help organizations more efficiently discover and increase their use of Puro.earth carbon removal credits. 

We joined the International Biochar Initiative, a platform for fostering stakeholder collaboration, good industry practices, and environmental and ethical standards to support biochar systems that are safe and economically viable.

Third-party verification and suppliers thrived

With our independent verifiers bio.inspecta, ELS, 350Solutions and DNV we were able to audit 45 carbon removal facilities for compliance to Puro Standard carbon removal methodologies. The first carbonated building elements/mineralization facility is being audited at the time of writing this.

Suppliers continued to thrive, scaling and selling their climate service to responsible corporations. 

It's an honor to work with the suppliers that are building the world's infrastructure to reach net zero!

Trusted by pioneering customers

Microsoft renewed their procurement of biochar suppliers from Puro.earth in their second carbon removal procurement to support its goal of being carbon negative by 2030. Zurich Insuranc​e chose Puro.earth supplier Oregon Biochar and BioRestorative Ideas to support their net zero objective, and Snap Inc, the makers of Snapchat, included carbon removal on their journey to net zero. Big thank you to our reference customers!

Community and global awareness

This year, leading the carbon removal community, we had two Carbon Removal Ecosystem Meetings full of knowledge sharing for buyers, suppliers and partners. The first with a focus on Long term offtake agreements for carbon removal projects, where we had TED speaker Dr. Gabrielle Walker, from Rethinking Removals, and Zurich’s Sustainable Sourcing Lead, Chris Minter. We had a great second ecosystem meeting at Climate Week NYC, the biggest climate event on the planet, on Securing and de-risking early-stage carbon removal, where we launched the new Pre-CORCs, digital carbon assets to facilitate prepayments of carbon removals.

The press also spotlighted us. Marianne Tikkanen, Head of Carbon Crediting Program was interviewed by Carbon Herald on COP27 and the integrity of the VCM , Insurance Journal published an article on how insurers and reinsurers can play an essential role as institutional investors and buyers of carbon removal, and Puro.earth was featured in Reuters article Biochar: the 'black gold' for soils that is getting big bets on offset markets. 

Thank you to everyone who made this year impactful. We hope you have a well-deserved rest in this holiday season. See you with full tanks in 2023 to keep mobilizing the world's economy to reward carbon net-negative emissions!   

Puro.earth is committed to developing the world's best carbon crediting program for engineered carbon removal and REMOVING as MUCH CO2 as we can, as FAST as we can, for as LONG duration as we can to fight the climate crisis, NOW.

Are you ready to include carbon removal in your climate actions? Welcome to learn more about these suppliers at Puro.earth and don't hesitate to contact us.