Puro.earth business model and fee structure

When Puro.earth was founded in 2019, there was no crediting program for engineered carbon removal. This gave us a blank slate to define a value proposition that is designed to enable the growth of the nascent carbon removal market while emphasizing simplicity, cost-efficiency, and transparency. Under the Puro Standard, we issue CO2 Removal Certificates, CORCs, that are sold in the carbon markets through third-party marketplaces or directly by our suppliers.

Transparent and simple cost structure

Puro.earth has two sources of revenue:

1. Annual platform membership fee

2. The Puro.earth Service Fee

1. Annual platform membership fee

Puro.earth charges a €900 annual membership fee that includes a Puro Registry Account where account holders can manage and retire CORCs. Users also need to sign the Platform Agreement. 

We do not charge extra for opening, closing, or reactivating accounts. For suppliers, the fee is also not dependent on the size of their CORC issuances.

2. The Puro.earth Service Fee

The service fee is applied to the supplier when the CORC or credit is traded for the first time. It is based on the volume of estimated annual Output of CORCs AND the price level of CORCs. The service fee is then taken from the total trade value. 

In the case of pre-payment of the CORCs or credits, 50% of the estimated Service Fee will be invoiced when the pre-payment occurs. The remaining balance will be invoiced once the final volume and price are known and the ownership of the CORCs or credit is changed.

The service fee covers all of the costs related to the Puro Standard and Registry services, including the transfer of ownership, issuance, verification, validation, registering, methodology development, and Puro Standard oversight by the Advisory Board. No service fee is charged, if no change of ownership or retirement is requested in the Puro Registry before the expiry of the credit. The credits expire after five years. 

By design, our service fee is simple, transparent and - based on estimates produced by a top tier consulting firm - one of the most cost-efficient means of issuing credits.

The service fee is independent from the sales channel that was used for the transaction. In other words, the service fee is the same regardless of whether the supplier had negotiated a bilateral deal between with the buyer or used a third-party broker or marketplace. Puro.earth does not derive any revenue from brokerage services. Puro.earth is not a party or a beneficiary in the market transaction. Puro.earth holds no equity in any members of the platform, and we have not established any revenue sharing arrangements with the account holders. 

The listing price on third-party marketplaces, already includes the Puro.earth service fee.

•   No separate costs related to the development of new methodologies
•   No upfront fees for CORC issuances
•   No separate issuance fees
•   No preliminary project, project design or performance review costs
•   No costs associated with project design feature changes
•   No crediting period renewal fees
•   No gap analysis fees
•   No expert or standardized methodology consultation fees

• Cost for third-party verification included in service fee

Secondary trades

When a secondary trade occurs, Puro.earth charges a fee to the CORC holder to register the change of ownership in the Puro Registry. This fee is dependent on the volume of the CORCs that are traded.

If the CORC or credit has been traded at least once and it is retired by the owner so that the Beneficiary is another legal entity, no Secondary Trading Service Fee is charged.

If you are a current or potential carbon removal producer engage with us to become a supplier and monetize your climate service.