Carbonplace’s New Strategic Partnerships Provide Transparency and Access in the Global Carbon Market

London, 7th November 2023

Carbonplace, the world’s only bank-led, global carbon credit transaction network, has announced a series of strategic partnerships with Verra, BeZero Carbon, Calyx Global, AlliedOffsets, Treefera, Rubicon Carbon, Viridios AI, and Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™ (Oka). These partnerships ensure that buyers and sellers of carbon credits will for the first time have unparalleled, end-to-end access to a broad array of high-quality credits and detailed data insights, a feature previously fragmented across the global market. 

Carbonplace facilitates the secure, transparent, and streamlined transfer of certified carbon credits across a global network of buyers and sellers through their banks. The global voluntary carbon market is projected to grow by nearly 60-fold, reaching $500 billion annually by 2050, yet the market has been inhibited by challenges in transparency, security, and efficiency. Opaque pricing and concerns about credit quality have also dampened buyer confidence. 

With carbon credit rating agency BeZero Carbon, whose independent ratings will be hosted on the platform, Carbonplace – a fintech that has been likened to the SWIFT of the carbon markets – is underscoring its dedication to providing clear and comprehensive data on credit quality. For the first time carbon markets participants can easily assess, compare, and trade different voluntary carbon credits all in one place: their Carbonplace portal.

Verra, the leading standard-setter for climate action and sustainable development, ensures that the VCU credits offered through Carbonplace adhere to the highest available benchmarks of quality and impact. 

In collaboration with Viridios AI, a world leading carbon credit pricing and market intelligence platform, AlliedOffsets, the leading aggregated data source for carbon offsetting, Treefera, AI enabled provider of forestry data and analytics, and Rubicon Carbon, the next generation carbon solutions provider, Carbonplace is poised to address the longstanding challenges that market participants face, particularly around price transparency and project information. Together, Carbonplace users will benefit from price information supporting their portfolio of carbon credits and comparable projects. 

Through its partnership with Oka, Carbonplace’s global network of buyers and sellers can now also de-risk their climate investments with first-of-its-kind carbon insurance. By providing its members access to financial compensation in the event of unforeseeable and unavoidable post-issuance risks, Carbonplace aims to strengthen confidence in and capital for climate solutions.

These new collaborations further cement Carbonplace, which successfully raised USD 45 million in December 2022, as a critical infrastructure, connecting banks, their clients, and key market participants with data at the core of the carbon market. Previous partnerships with key voluntary carbon market participants, such as Climate Impact X, established a foundation from which Carbonplace has evolved into a hub of connectivity.

Scott Eaton, CEO of Carbonplace, said

“Carbonplace is where the emerging world of carbon markets meets the established world of finance. Built by banks for banks, Carbonplace will give users essential tools like transparent pricing and real-time insights, ensuring they are well-positioned in the swiftly evolving carbon market of tomorrow.”

Through its new partners, Carbonplace will facilitate deeply informed decision-making across its member network. Carbon credit buyers and sellers will enjoy the ability to manage their portfolios in real-time, guaranteeing traceable and efficient settlement of carbon credit transactions, with the retirement of credits achievable within minutes. Furthermore, Carbonplace accounts enable owners to reliably demonstrate ownership to the market, reducing the risks of double counting and simplifying reporting. 

The announcement follows three years of development and strategic investments made by the nine founding banks, including BNP Paribas, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank, NatWest Group, BBVA, SMBC, Standard Chartered, and UBS. Carbonplace is now welcoming new memberships from interested banks, with applications available directly through its website. 

Supporting Quotes

“In order for the voluntary carbon market to scale to deliver meaningful climate action, there needs to be a greater understanding of carbon credit quality, and its associated risks. This is why we’re delighted to be partnering with Carbonplace – incorporating our ratings into their platform will help buyers make informed net zero decisions and enable them to invest in high-quality credits that bring genuine benefits to the planet.”

Tommy Ricketts, CEO and co-founder of BeZero Carbon.

“The VCM will play a key role in helping the world achieve its climate targets as organisations with hard to abate emissions invest in high quality carbon credits. Our work with Carbonplace is another important step in improving transparency around this emerging asset class,”

Viridios Group CEO, Eddie Listorti.   

“Oka is dedicated to de-risking voluntary carbon markets to unlock their vast potential. More than ever, credit buyers are seeking evidence of product innovation within an established and secure market framework. Carbonplace is committed to delivering on both fronts, through much-needed industry collaboration. We look forward to working together to support its growing network of buyers and sellers.”

Chris Slater, CEO and Founder of Oka.

“We are excited to be part of Carbonplace’s new strategic partnerships that represent a significant leap forward for the voluntary carbon market. With Carbonplace, we’re creating a more efficient, transparent and secure, and data-driven platform for buyers and sellers. This marks an important moment in our collective effort to address climate change.”

Anton Root, Head of Research at AlliedOffsets.

“Carbonplace has brought about something incredible – by combining  the right mechanisms, governance and data insights, they are instrumental in moving the carbon market forward at enterprise scale.  Treefera are delighted to be part of this groundbreaking innovation”

Dr Jonathan R Horn, Founder and CEO, Treefera

Notes to Editors 

Carbonplace Limited is a global carbon credit transaction network headquartered in London and developed by nine of the world’s foremost financial institutions. 

The fintech fundamentally transforms how carbon credits are bought and sold by allowing simultaneous settlement of carbon credits, with immediate transfer of ownership upon payment – ensuring robust reporting and traceability during the entire carbon credit transfer process and is available to clients of financial institutions wanting to deliver secure and transparent access to the carbon markets.

Building on its member banks’ highly regulated and standardized compliance frameworks, Carbonplace ensures transparent and simple customer-to-customer transactions by enabling frictionless counterparty due diligence and onboarding.  

The voluntary carbon market has a critical role in supporting the transition of corporations to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, as part of their climate action strategies. Carbon credits can be used by corporations looking to compensate for emissions that they cannot reduce or remove. The credits fund high-quality projects that remove such emissions from the atmosphere.

Media Contact 

Zoë Fillingham, Account Director, Browning Environmental Communications
Email: zoe@browningenvironmental.com
Phone: +44 7285 228 571