Creduce, one of India’s leading service providers in climate change and carbon asset management, has begun developing pilot projects for a digital registry it has set up to help small and marginal farmers claim carbon credits.

The registry is ready and it will be commercially launched after the pilot projects are developed, said Creduce founder Shailendra Singh Rao. The launch will likely take place by the middle of June once the start-up develops a sufficient number of projects in its registry. “We are partnering with international agencies for the satellite imagery and data transfer so that we can digitally verify and quantify the carbon sequestration on the landmass and land area for soil carbon as well as the above the ground carbon calculation,” he told businessline in an online interaction. 

The company is tying up with international data suppliers for this and the integration process is on. 

Counterpart raises $8.5 m

Creduce has opened its Series A round of funding to raise $10 million and it has looped in investment bankers. “We have received some soft commitments and are hopeful the term sheets will be signed soon.” he said. 

The encouraging factor for Creduce is one of its industry counterparts has raised $8.5 million from renowned investors. Global and Indian investors are looking to invest in climate change and tech space. “Creduce has emerged as their first choice looking at our existing numbers in terms of revenues and project. We are so far bootstrapped and a profit-making company,” the company’s founder said. 

The start-up has begun aggressively trading carbon credits and international renewable energy certificates (IREC). Rao claimed that the company has achieved a 500 per cent growth. For the current fiscal, it is looking at a target of over ₹100 crore revenue. 

Targets to trade 10 m IREC

Creduce has acquired a couple of biochar projects and is developing them. These projects will help generate 1 lakh carbon credits from biochar — a carbon-rich material made from organic waste that has been partially combusted in the presence of little oxygen — project activities, he said. 

Since biochar and mangrove activities are the most sought-after for carbon credits in the international market, the start-up is heavily deploying its resources and attention in developing mangroves and biochar credits. Last fiscal, the company traded in 3 million IREC besides generating 2 million IREC. This fiscal, the company’s target is to trade in 10 million IREC, he said.

The company is working with a non-governmental organisation based in Odisha. It will work with 10,000 farmers and develop sustainable agriculture-based project activities that will figure in the digital registry. “We already have the land data and their agriculture activities. So this could be probably one of the big breakthroughs for Odisha in sustainable activities,” Rao said.

MoUs with States

Creduce has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mizoram government, and bid for a tender floated by the Maharashtra and Assam governments to develop carbon credits for their forests. “We have also signed a MoU with the Gujarat Government for restoration and redevelopment of 10,000 hectares of mangroves,” the company’s founder said.

On afforestation programmes, he said Creduce was undertaking two key activities. One is bamboo plantation-based activities with the Arunachal Pradesh Government. The project has come to a halt due to elections to the Lok Sabha and they will pick up post-elections. 

Another afforestation programme is with Harrison Malayalam in Kerala for rubber plantation, Rao said. 

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