“Want to offset your carbon today?” Carbonext leads the issuance of credits

In the year, Carbonext generated 2.45 million carbon credits, moving about US$ 30 million in offset transactions in the voluntary market, which places it as a leader in this market in the period. It is more than double the production of the second place and one of the biggest competitors, Biofílica, an Ambipar company, which issued around one million credits in the semester.

The projects are carried out in partnership with 48 legal landowners in the Amazon rainforest. After identifying areas at risk of deforestation and calculating the potential emission of toxic gases from the destruction of the region, Carbonext financially encourages residents and spends a year monitoring and preserving the site. Only after one year, credits can be issued.

“Almost half of Brazil’s carbon emissions come from deforestation, and the Amazon is a major focus of this problem,” says forestry engineer Janaína Dallan, founder and co-CEO of Carbonext. “To make matters worse, our country still faces a problem of credibility in the eyes of the outside. Many projects are not approved by the regulator. So we need to be very careful about the integrity and quality of these credits.” Currently, Carbonext preserves 1.8 million hectares in 12 current projects.

Compensation for CO2 emissions is based on Decree 11,075/2022 and is certified by VERRA (Verified Carbon Standard), an international body based in Washington that specializes in forestry. Annually, the regulator rejects Brazilian projects made based on illegally occupied land and other problems of origin and execution.

About 70% of the capital raised with REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) projects by Carbonext is invested in the Amazon rainforest. This is because 50% of the income from credit sales is used to support local landowners, who change their source of income, previously obtained from raising cattle, for example, and another 20% is spent on the maintenance and preservation of the area. The other 30% make the company’s revenue.

Carbonext serves clients such as BNDES, Tim, C6, Uber and Raízen. More than 70% of revenue comes from this vertical. But the initiative aimed at individuals has also been successful. By filling out a form on the website, it is possible to find out how much an individual emits in CO2 monthly and, with a monthly fee, offset the environmental impact.

When calling a ride through Uber, for example, the user has the option to pay to offset the carbon they will emit during the trip – opting for the Comfort Planet fare instead of UberX or Comfort in the app. This is called “embedded credit”, a B2B2C modality. In another model, called “spot”, the companies themselves look for credits to neutralize the emissions that they are required by law to offset. Less contracted, the subscription model offers the possibility of offsetting personal emissions.

In the midst of the ESG era, Carbonext has attracted the attention of investors. The cap table already includes firms such as Canary and Alexia Ventures, in addition to FitPart, the family office of Tom Freitas Valle. Last year, the company raised R$30 million in its Series A, in which around 20 investors participated.

The corporate maturity is largely due to the arrival of Luciano Corrêa da Fonseca, who made his career at Pátria two years ago. Brother of the founder, the economist currently shares the position of CEO of Cabonext. Since becoming a partner, the executive has multiplied the project analysis and construction teams by seven and brought in names such as Maurício Simões, from Suzano, and Felipe Viana, from XP, to reinforce the team.

“Talking to Jana, it became very clear that she had a fast-paced business, in full expansion phase. We decided to become partners to develop the company”, says Fonseca. “It was a small team, working on few projects, because the market was still a bit slow”.

Carbonext was founded in 2010, when emission offset policies were still unclear. “Today, this market is in high demand. No credit”. Annually, 60 billion tons of carbon are emitted worldwide. Less than 30% of this volume is handled in the regulated market.

Source: Value Pipeline