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October 1, 2024
Getting to net-zero emissions means balancing what we put into the atmosphere with what we take out—so we can avoid making the planet even hotter and ensure a livable future. Think of it like managing water levels in a bathtub. Emissions from human activities, like burning fossil fuels, are like water pouring in from a faucet. Natural processes, like trees and oceans absorbing CO₂, act as the drain. Right now, the faucet is running faster than the drain can handle, causing the tub to overflow. Reducing emissions is key to turning down the faucet, but that alone isn’t enough. To reach net-zero, we also need to remove the extra CO₂ that’s built up over time. But how do we know if we’re really making progress?
That’s where Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) comes in. MRV is like a measuring cup that tracks exactly how much CO₂ is being removed and ensures the process is reliable. Independent, digital MRV (dMRV) takes it a step further by combining automated digital tools with unbiased oversight to ensure these efforts are real, efficient, and scalable.
In our recent webinar, industry leaders shared why independent, digital MRV is so important for building trust and growing the carbon removal market. We heard from Mischa Repmann, Senior Risk Manager at Swiss Re; Diego Justiniano, President of Exomad Green; Duncan Kariuki, Co-Founder and CPO of Octavia Carbon; and Benno Fuchs, Chief Operating Officer at Puro.earth.
Here’s what they had to say:
For companies and governments purchasing carbon removal credits, trust is everything. They need to know the credits they’re buying deliver real, measurable climate benefits. As Mischa Repmann put it: “Independent digital MRV adds an extra level of safety. It’s a protective layer that helps us ensure that the credits we’re purchasing meet high standards of integrity.” With dMRV providing reliable data and visibility into project performance, buyers can invest confidently, knowing their purchases truly contribute to their climate goals.
For CDR suppliers, dMRV isn’t just about meeting buyers’ requirements—it’s about making the complex process of data tracking and certification easier.
Diego Justiniano shared how dMRV has simplified operations for Exomad Green: “We chose Carbonfuture’s dMRV because it brings transparency and trustworthiness to our operations. The digital integration allows us to efficiently manage data and ensure our credits meet the highest standards.” Diego also noted that independent dMRV has helped Exomad Green quickly gain market access and grow their operations faster. By automating data collection, dMRV allows suppliers to focus more on expanding their projects and less on admin work.
For companies like Octavia Carbon, building with dMRV in mind from day one sets a strong foundation for growth. Duncan Kariuki explained: “We designed our facility with sensors that specifically track CO₂ capture and LCA data like energy usage, ensuring that we collect the data needed for verification. Our work with Carbonfuture will help us process the millions of data points we get a day and pass it along to certifiers, third-party auditors, and eventually buyers in an accessible way.” For Duncan, dMRV is key to future-proofing their operations and signaling to the market that their credits are of the highest quality.
For the carbon removal market to grow to climate-relevant levels, scalability and efficiency are key. Benno Fuchs from Puro.earth shared how partnering with an independent dMRV provider has simplified data management and ensured objective oversight: "Handling data from CDR suppliers is 95% of the workload for our largest team at Puro. It’s so much easier to manage when it comes in a standardized and automated way from an MRV provider.”
Having an independent dMRV provider ensures that data collection and reporting stay unbiased and reliable. “There would be a conflict of interest if we, as a standard, were the only ones to harness data directly from suppliers,” Benno said. By removing conflicts of interest, independent dMRV lets standards like Puro.earth focus on setting clear guidelines and verifying compliance. This kind of impartial oversight is essential for scaling carbon removal efforts to meet global climate goals.
Independent, digital MRV is transforming how carbon removal projects are monitored, reported, verified. At Carbonfuture, our MRV+ solution offers buyers confidence in credit quality and reliability, streamlines certification for suppliers, and simplifies data collection and verification for standards—all while ensuring impartiality, eliminating conflicts of interest, and safeguarding confidentiality across the value chain.
Learn more about Carbonfuture MRV+, here: https://www.carbonfuture.earth/products/mrv