Global carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon has raised a $32 million Series C investment round. BeZero will use the funds to expand its ratings coverage of compliance markets, as well as Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and to invest in automation and its team of climate and data scientists.
Assessing the value of a carbon project is key to its efficacy and avoiding greenwashing. BeZero evaluates and rates carbon projects, including blue carbon projects, using myriad data sources, including satellite data, remote sensing technologies on aircraft, and data collected from groups conducting inventories on the ground. The company said it provides detailed project-level analysis, fundamental project data and risk assessment tools without involvement in any of the more than 480 carbon projects it rates.
The round was led by Singapore-based Temasek-founded GenZero, a decarbonization-focused global investment firm with additional investment from the Japan Airlines and Translink Innovation Fund. Existing investors EDF Pulse Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Illuminate Financial, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Molten Ventures, Qima, and Quantum Innovation Fund also committed fresh capital.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our fantastic customers who now more than ever rely on our ratings,” said Tommy Ricketts, CEO and Co-founder of BeZero Carbon. “The funds will allow us to sustain our pace of innovation and expand our ratings coverage to compliance carbon markets, such as Article 6 and CORSIA, and the voluntary carbon market.”
The company said when it first launched its ratings platform in 2022, there was no correlation between the climate impact of a carbon project and the price of a carbon credit. Three years later it said every incremental BeZero Carbon Rating notch on BeZero’s 8-point rating scale commands an average 40% price premium.
“Carbon ratings play a pivotal role in ensuring integrity and transparency in carbon markets by providing independent, standardised assessments of quality,” said Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero. “By leveraging data, internal scientific expertise and methodological insights to analyse carbon projects, BeZero’s work will foster greater confidence in carbon markets, and catalyse more capital and demand.”
