Platform sells carbon credits to individuals via Pix

With an eye on new niches and the growth of the carbon credits market, Auren Energia launched this month an internet platform where, in addition to companies, individuals can purchase credits to offset pollutant emissions. Purchases can be made via card or even Pix.

The purchase of carbon credits has become common among corporations, as a way of offsetting the emission of greenhouse gases, identified as the main causes of climate change.

Whether for reasons of reputation or targets imposed by law, companies seek to mitigate these emissions. As some are unable to clear them or reach the goals established by themselves or by supervisory bodies, they choose to buy credits. These credits are generated by projects that in some way avoid or reduce the release of carbon into the atmosphere.

Auren’s proposal with the platform is to reach new buyers, but the way it operates is the same. The customer says how much they want to compensate, chooses the type of credit they want – coming from wind energy generation or preserved areas, for example – and where they want to buy them from, as per the example below:

“We developed a democratic mechanism that makes it possible to purchase carbon credits in the virtual environment in an agile and intuitive way, with the aim of simplifying the customer experience”, says José Guilherme Amato, Carbon Business Manager at Auren Energia.

The carbon credits sold on the platform come from properties owned by Auren, which belongs to the Votorantim group, and by CPP Investments. There are three: Ventos do Araripe III, Ventos do Piauí I and Legado Verde do Cerrado.

The first two are wind energy generation complexes and the third is a private sustainable development reserve of 32 thousand hectares located in Niquelândia (GO) and managed by Reservas Votorantim.

The client, which can be an individual, a company, an event venue or even the government, can opt for a single project or a combo that combines the compensation of two types of credits.

According to the company, today there are more than 100 companies on its customer list. The goal is that around 8 million credits will be sold by 2030.

The projects are all registered with Verra, a global certifier of voluntary carbon offsets. The company had its processes questioned in 2023, when studies revealed by the British newspaper “The Guardian” stated that more than 90% of tropical forest compensation credits from projects certified by Verra in several countries are probably “ghost credits”. The company disputes the methodology and conclusions of the studies.

Auren Energia says that, after purchase, the customer receives a digital certificate, which certifies the compensation of credits.

“The platform sells carbon projects that are owned by Auren and meet a high standard of quality and governance. As a difference, we created a transparency process to ensure that our customers have access to complete and detailed information regarding technical factors, public sources and the social and environmental co-benefits of these projects for a safe and certified purchase”, says Amato.