“We have this one beautiful planet; that’s our one home; that’s what we have to save.”
Jane Goodall at Washington University on Sun, Oct 9
At Tolam, we hold a vision of a world that is carbon net zero by 2040. We are hopeful that this vision will be realized. Yet, we do not allow hope to blind us to realities. In order to keep warming below 1.5 degree celsius, it would mean a 45% emissions reduction by 2030 (source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/27/1131687504/heres-how-far-behind-the-world-is-on-reining-in-climate-change). For perspective, carbon dioxide emissions fell only 5.4% in 2020 (source: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3129/emission-reductions-from-pandemic-had-unexpected-effects-on-atmosphere/) during the height of pandemic restrictions. This reduction was only temporary.
Current technologies for reduction are part of the answer. Many are being deployed with more on their way. Despite the great strides, they may not allow us to reach carbon neutrality. Companies and organizations want to be an active participant in their reduction even when sustainable alternatives are not viable. This is exactly the role for carbon offsets.
Carbon offsets are positioned to counteract hard-to-abate activities that release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, and after reductions, are often considered a critical step in an end-to-end corporate sustainability or ESG strategy. Companies are already embracing this strategy. In 2021, global carbon trading approached $1 billion.
- Fundamentally lacking enough high-quality offsets with visibility and transparency from sensor to transaction.
- Pricing for carbon offsets fails to factor in unique attributes that are in demand. This is partially caused by how offsets are typically purchased – on a project basis rather than the unique attributes of the offsets.
- Buying digital environmental assets, including carbon offsets, is too complicated, cumbersome, and opaque.
This is why now is the time for Tolam.
We are building a new marketplace for digital environmental assets, including and starting with carbon offsets. We believe in transparency, visibility, and auditability down to our DNA. Thus, we have implemented the world’s first fully open source digital measurement, reporting and verification (dMRV) policy workflow engine to ensure buyers know how the offsets are created. Offsets will have traceable, reproducible records that document the emission process and life cycle of carbon credits.
To ensure pricing for carbon offsets are valid, we have built our Automated Regression Market Makers (ARMM). The ARMM utilizes machine learning to enable efficient price discovery for highly complex arrangements of attributes such as project type and geographic location. This drives optimal liquidity and pricing. The ARMM simplifies the learning required for corporations to make large, secure purchase decisions in order to meet carbon reduction, neutrality, or net zero goals.
We have diligently rethought every aspect of the marketplace. Every step we have taken is about scaling, and scale can only occur when we make the process of buying assets as easy, trustworthy, and seamless as buying off Amazon or Etsy.
We are bringing the marketplace to life over the next few months so companies can focus on climate outcomes rather than complex tools. This is how we build trust and transparency… and repair, protect, and serve our planet, sustainably.
Join a future built on trust.
EXTRA:
One of our core values at Tolam is Kintsugi. Kintsugi is “the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powedered gold, silver, or platinum.” The embrace of the flaws and imperfections makes something even stronger and more beautiful. The end product is arguably more beautiful than the original – aesthetically, functionally, and philosophically.
