By Riley Kaminer
Technology will play a key role in climate resiliency, and Miami has a major opportunity to become a place where great climate-tech companies are built.
Carbon offsets present a particularly promising pathway to reducing our carbon footprints. The core idea is simple: by purchasing an offset, an individual or company can compensate for emissions they make elsewhere. Carbon offsets – while far from uncontroversial – are widely viewed as a quick and minimally disruptive way for communities to achieve allusive net-zero targets.
Spanish startup ClimateTrade is developing tools to unlock decarbonization at scale. The company, which was founded in 2017, has built a blockchain-based marketplace for companies to offset their climate impact by purchasing carbon, plastic, and biodiversity offsets, as well as renewable energy certificates directly from project developers.
ClimateTrade just announced that it is expanding its footprint in the U.S. and relocating its headquarters to Miami. The startup will continue to have a major presence in Spain, as well as South Korea and the U.K.
To spearhead these expansion efforts, ClimateTrade has hired Michael Green as a U.S. business and policy advisor. Green, a climate science policy expert, was most recently the executive director of Climate XChange. He has also held roles at the UN, the American Sustainable Business Network, and the Climate Action Business Association.
“Engaging businesses with meaningful opportunities to address the climate crisis is something we must do,” Green commented in a statement. “And I believe ClimateTrade has the technology, the people, and the vision to do it.”
Miami as a hub for climate tech
The decision to move ClimateTrade to Miami was a strategic one, co-founder and CEO Francisco Benedito told Refresh Miami. “From the beginning we wanted to come to the US,” he said.
“The motivation to move to Miami was because it is becoming a hub for innovation and sustainability at the same time,” he continued. “There are a lot of technology companies coming here. It’s a great place and a moment to start scaling our U.S. business.”
Equally, Benedito noted the longtime cultural connection between Miami and Spain – arguably going back centuries. He feels particularly at home in the States, having spent his senior year of high school here.
Another major factor that sealed the deal on Miami: Mayor Suarez. “He’s an amazing person doing great things for Miami,” said Benedito. “Mayor Suarez is excited not only about Miami being a tech city but also one of the world’s leading sustainable cities.”
Benedito acknowledged that Miami is on the front lines of the climate crisis. “Miami is at the center of climate change, and is and representative of what is happening globally,” he said. “We have to adapt to climate change and at the same time prevent it, because if we only focus on adaptation, we are admitting that we cannot solve the problem.”
“You need to enter a market whenever it’s at its beginning,” said Benedito. This is unfortunately the reality with the American business world’s nascent resolve to tackle climate change. For instance, Benedito’s native Spain already has a law requiring companies to provide climate action plans with timeline-based emission reduction targets. Safe to say we are far from this reality.
Nevertheless, Benedito is optimistic. “Businesses are starting to understand that their customers and investors are demanding for them to decarbonize – and how important it is for the planet.”
This change in mindset will lead to major business opportunities, in his estimation: “Climate will generate more unicorns in the next 30 years. Climate is going to be a big business. And we have to see it as a business, because that’s when we’ll solve the problem.”
ClimateTrade’s B2B solution is a decarbonization marketplace
Through ClimateTrade’s platform, companies can purchase carbon offsets through a virtual marketplace. ClimateTrade helps companies develop their decarbonization strategy and then connects them with the most impactful projects from around the world. Clients include large companies from a diverse set of sectors, including Telefónica, Santander, Danone, and Lavazza.
The startup also offers an API that enables consumer services to be carbon neutral. This allows end users to calculate their carbon emissions and pay for the right amount of offsets. One example use case is with banks, who can show customers their carbon footprint on a credit card statement and then have them pay to offset it.
The blockchain-based nature of the platform provides transparency and traceability, explained Benedito. “Transparency is important because it tells you where the money is going. And traceability is important so that you can be sure a carbon credit is cancelled once it is used.” ClimateTrade charges a fee to both the buyer and the seller when a carbon credit is purchased on their platform.
Benedito started his first business at the ripe age of 17, before selling it a few years later to pursue a career in banking. These days, he is laser focused on scaling ClimateTrade. “It’s not just my passion, it’s my obsession,” he said.
Indeed, ClimateTrade is poised for growth, having increased its headcount by 65% over the last year. Its 80 full-time employees are based around the world, but the company has its sights set on U.S. expansion in particular. Currently, the company is looking to hire a Chief Commercial Officer and a Chief Financial Officer, with view to expand its American sales team shortly thereafter.
ClimateTrade has already made partnerships in the U.S., having joined upwards of 1,000 American businesses to petition the federal government to take action on climate change, on top of collaborating with Miami-based startup TravelX to help decarbonize the travel industry through the blockchain.
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