Sylvera: Accelerating a Net Zero Future
We are thrilled to announce our investment in Sylvera, a London-based company bringing transparency to the voluntary carbon markets. Sylvera is building the definitive unit of measure and quality for the rapidly developing climate market. In doing so, we believe Sylvera will become the Moody’s or S&P for this once in a generation market creation opportunity.
9Yards is excited to participate in Sylvera’s $57M Series B led by Balderton Capital and alongside existing investors Index Ventures and Insight Partners and new investors Bain & Fidelity. With a global urgency on reaching net zero targets and removing large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, Sylvera has become instrumental in ushering in trust and accuracy into the evaluation of carbon credits.
Untangling the Voluntary Carbon Markets
Carbon offsets, also referred to as carbon credits, are the primary method for today’s enterprises to take responsibility for their carbon footprint. Carbon offsets work by funding projects that either prevent the release of greenhouse gases or remove them from the atmosphere altogether. These include renewable energy projects, reforestation, distribution of clean cookstoves, and reduction of landfill methane.
As companies across the globe are being held to a higher standard for achieving net zero goals, purchasing carbon offsets has become the primary method to accelerate compliance. With over 120 countries pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2050, it will take an incremental $3.5T in annual climate investment per year to meet these goals.
Unfortunately, the nascency of this market leaves enterprises in the dark, without a source of truth to qualify the effectiveness of the available carbon credits. The result is an opaque ecosystem — with a lack of reliable data or rating methodology that enables businesses to make the most informed decisions for offsetting their carbon emissions.
Enter Sylvera. Sylvera is the leading carbon ratings and market intelligence platform. Sylvera provides the transparency underlying the trading, pricing, and investment of carbon credits. It’s customer base today includes global, blue-chip companies like Chevron, EY, Salesforce, BP, and Shell. With Sylvera, these customers gain clarity on their current and potential climate investments as they strive for net-zero targets.
The Sylvera Difference
Sylvera’s best-in-class carbon offset evaluation methodologies have brought unparalleled transparency to the market. Sylvera meticulously builds frameworks for every category of offset, testing for project design, carbon accounting, and climate impact claims. This enables nuanced analysis rather than a one-size-fits-all approach — for instance, avoiding attempts to measure a forest management project and a renewables project using the same framework.
Sylvera leverages advanced machine learning technology atop its proprietary field data set, creating remarkable visibility into the operations and effectiveness of project areas. The result is a comprehensive carbon credit rating: classifying the initiatives with the greatest impact as top-rated (AAA) while projects unlikely to have delivered on claims receive lower ratings (D). As more companies use Sylvera for ratings, the data asset grows with classic flywheel & network effects.
With science at its core, Sylvera is forming a critical layer of trust to catalyze one of the world’s most important financial markets. In just 18 months since its Series A, Sylvera has expanded its customer base sevenfold. Sylvera’s market intelligence and project reports can be accessed through its online platform and API. The platform is now being leveraged by corporate sustainability leaders, carbon traders, and governments around the world.
9Yards is excited to partner with Sylvera as it strengthens confidence in the carbon offset markets — bringing us closer to a net zero future.
