June 1st, 2022, marks the one-year anniversary of our exciting partnership with Nasdaq. When the financial technology company acquired a majority stake in Puro.earth, we accelerated our journey towards mobilizing carbon removal on a global, industrial scale and over the last 12 months, we’ve gone from strength to strength. Our small team of six tripled in size. We were also joined by an incredibly skilled team of advisors, including Professor Myles Allen, Director of the Oxford Net Zero Initiative, who chairs our external Advisory Board, the body that governs Puro Standard's methodologies and crediting rules, and industry-leading experts such as Fredrik Ekström, president of Nasdaq Stockholm, who chairs our Board of Directors.

The collaborative approach places us in a strong position to scale the CO2 removal industry and address the growing demands from corporations on their path towards net-zero.

Since the start of our journey together with Nasdaq – an established leader in corporate ESG - our climate impact has grown:

• The cumulative committed trade value of CORCs grew five times compared with the period prior to Nasdaq’s involvement.
• Our average commission, which covers eligibility checks, verification done by independent third-party auditors, CORC issuance and assistance in sales, has only been 8.3 %, making us, we believe, the most efficient value chain in the carbon markets, where suppliers receive the most money for their climate service.
• In the last year, we issued 135,000 CORCs, representing 135,000 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere for the long term, up from 74,000 in the two years before.
• 39 new carbon removal suppliers joined Puro.earth over this period, meeting increasing demand for verified carbon removal.
• We now have carbon removal suppliers in 20 countries, eleven more than in 2020
• Our reseller network has grown to 21 channel partners.
• Woody Biomass Burial was added to the list of carbon removal methodologies that can get credited with the Puro Standard, besides biochar, building materials and geologically stored carbon.
• The Biochar methodology was updated to include more source raw material and technology options, giving access to more suppliers to be issued CORCs.
• New third-party verifiers joined our platform to audit projects for compliance to Puro Standard methodologies.

Overall, we are beginning to see a more liquid market where offtake and pre-purchase agreements are gaining importance and the Puro Standard is increasingly known for its high-quality. If this growth trajectory continues we will reach the gigaton level before 2030.

We are also proud to have welcomed Zurich Insurance Group and Snap Inc. among others as new public reference customers, and Microsoft as a repeat customer who renewed procurement for the second year.

Earlier this year, in collaboration with Nasdaq we increased transparency in the whole voluntary carbon market by:

• Launching Puro Registry - a user-friendly online platform where anyone can view if a corporation has used CO2 Removal Certificates to neutralize emissions.
• 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.

By providing access to reference prices for CORCs, we aim to create transparency and robustness in the market in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. 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.

Also with Nasdaq’s support, we expanded the corporate use of advance purchase commitments with our Pre-CORC Framework. Buyers can give demand signals to carbon removal suppliers by committing to purchase CORCs in the future from innovative projects that are still setting up operations. This drives support together with other buyers, effectively pooling demand and thus enabling new projects to materialize. Pre-CORCs can help projects secure funding while buyers lock in their future supply and demonstrate their commitment to supporting the growth of the carbon removal ecosystem.

What’s next?

Geographic growth – Besides our targeted growth in North America and Europe, we will continue to expand our presence in Latin America and Asia, so that more carbon removal projects can have a nearby Puro.earth presence, enter the market and monetize their climate service.

New methodologies – In the coming months the Puro Standard will release a methodology for Terrestrial Enhanced Rock Weathering, expanding the science-based issuing of CORCs. We will continue to enable new carbon removal methodologies as technology and science evolves.

New and stronger partnerships - We will continue to work with the leading carbon footprint quantification and reduction advisory companies, such as Watershed Climate, Plan A, and Pledge, to offer CORCs to their clients. 

Keep enabling advance commitments - We believe that enabling buyers to commit to advance multi-year agreements is the way to help suppliers gain inclusive market entry and future carbon credit revenue, which will enable growth via access to equity and debt.

We are inspired by our growth trajectory, alongside the knowledge that a fully functioning carbon removal industry could remove more than 10 gigatons of CO2 each year. We hope to play an instrumental role in building a world where any company can help reverse climate change by removing its carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Bolstered by Nasdaq’s support, we continue to strive to achieve this hugely important and worthwhile proposition. 

The Puro.earth Team

Are you ready to include science-based carbon removal in your climate actions? Welcome to learn more about our Carbon Removal Suppliers and don't hesitate to contact us.