Petroleum supplier BP paid an undisclosed amount yesterday for a majority stake in one of its portfolio companies, US-based carbon offset facilitator Finite Carbon.
Finite Carbon partners forest landowners to develop carbon offset projects that enable them to receive money by selling the resulting carbon credits to polluters. BP will integrate the company into its business accelerator, BP Launchpad, and fund its international growth.
The company raised $5m from BP in October 2019, roughly a decade after raising $2m from venture capital firm TL Ventures.
Sean Carney, Finite Carbon’s founder, said: “Putting a price on carbon can make it possible for anyone with the ability to protect, plant, or improve forests to generate revenue from their efforts. However, there is currently limited infrastructure to quantify, monitor and verify these actions at scale.
“Thanks to this unique partnership with BP, Finite Carbon now has the resources of a global energy company behind it to help address this enormous environmental challenge and help small landowners access this market.”