Equitable Earth raises £10.9m to speed digital certification of nature-based carbon credits
This article covers Equitable Earth, a greentech startup, which has raised £10.9m (€12.6m) in a growth funding round to expand its digital certification programme for nature-based carbon projects. The funding is intended to scale its platform, data and methodologies to increase supply of verifiable, high-integrity carbon credits and support project developers, corporate buyers and conservation efforts.
Equitable Earth, a greentech startup, has raised £10.9m (€12.6m) in a growth funding round to expand its digital certification programme for nature-based carbon projects. The financing, led by a US-based family office and supported by existing investors including AENU, noa and Localglobe, will be used to scale the company’s platform, data and methodologies at a time when demand for high-integrity carbon credits is growing.
Why it matters
Nature-based solutions are a major channel for near-term emissions mitigation, but the voluntary carbon market has struggled with trust, consistency and scale. Equitable Earth’s certification programme has been recognised against the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles, giving it a market benchmark that matters to corporate buyers and project developers. Increasing the supply of verifiable, high-integrity credits could shorten timelines for directing climate finance into threatened ecosystems and communities.
Inside the product
Equitable Earth operates a digital certification platform intended to streamline the project lifecycle from assessment to verification. Key elements described by the company include:
- Centralised, standardised carbon accounting and in-house risk modelling aimed at reducing conflicts of interest and increasing consistency across projects.
- Advanced remote sensing for monitoring and reporting to provide transparent measurements and explicit uncertainty estimates.
- Methodologies focused on core climate, ecological and livelihoods outcomes rather than ancillary co-benefits.
- Measurable community engagement requirements intended to protect participation and equitable benefit sharing with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Its Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR) methodology is cited by independent ratings agency Sylvera as among the more rigorous in the market, and Equitable Earth says its recently published REDD+ methodology is expected to receive similar recognition. The company plans to certify millions more hectares and to expand methodological coverage across threatened ecosystems.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by a US-based family office; existing backers AENU, noa and Localglobe also participated. The financing brings total capital raised by Equitable Earth to more than £21.7m (€25m).
noa framed its participation in market terms. Arjun Jairaj, noa, said:
The carbon markets need scalable, reliable projects that deliver real climate, ecological, and social outcomes. This funding helps Equitable Earth to meet that demand, cementing its position as a market leader in high-integrity, nature-based certification.
Investors are backing further investment into the company’s digital platform, modelling and data systems, along with hiring across research, engineering, commercial and certification teams to speed certification throughput and increase trusted supply.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of greentech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of greentech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
Thibault Sorret, CEO of Equitable Earth, positioned the raise as a step towards wider adoption of the company’s standard and tools.
Thibault Sorret, CEO of Equitable Earth, said:
Equitable Earth continues to focus on enabling organisations to protect and restore the natural world by certifying projects in a trusted, scalable way. This new round of funding allows us to continue to grow and establish ourselves as the global standard for nature-based projects.
The company says proceeds will also be used to hire across teams and to build new methodologies to cover additional ecosystems.
The bigger picture
The deal reflects continued interest from greentech investors in mechanisms that increase the integrity and scalability of nature-based credits. As corporates face rising scrutiny over net-zero claims and as voluntary market governance tightens, certification providers that can demonstrate rigorous methodologies and transparent monitoring are likely to attract demand. For project developers, quicker, digitalised certification could reduce time-to-market for credits and improve access to finance for conservation and restoration work.
This funding round underscores a broader push across the UK and Europe to professionalise the voluntary carbon market and scale nature-based solutions while meeting stricter integrity standards set by bodies such as the ICVCM.
They've invested in Equitable Earth
Get to know these greentech investors
Click here for a full list of 7,526+ startup investors in the UK