Yard Stick PBC, a soil carbon measurement technology company, announced today, following the closure of its Series A funding round, a revenue of $12 million. The fund will enable the company to promote their endeavor to improve the dependability and efficiency of soil carbon sequestration projects, as per its press release.
Established in 2021 and based in California, Yard Stick designs soil carbon measurement hardware and software that can sample, measure, and verify carbon storage in soils. This state-of-the-art technology establishes unbiased approval for companies aiming to reduce carbon in their agricultural supply chain or utilize voluntary carbon markets to balance emissions. Yard Stick’s technology can provide soil organic carbon measurements up to 3.28 feet (1 meter) deep, develop statistically significant sample plans, and gather measurement data in real time. These offerings come at 70-90% lower than other providers, the firm claims.
In the next few years, demand for carbon offset projects and associated credits are predicted to increase significantly. This drive comes as more companies strive for net zero emissions and resort to carbon removal projects as a bridge to their direct emissions reduction efforts, or to offset inevitable emissions. However, the unregulated and growing market faces a number of issues, most notably, stakeholders struggling to distinguish between high and low-grade projects due to insufficient or inconsistent data when evaluating the effectiveness of those projects.
Yard Stick’s solution seeks to overcome a major hurdle in scaling soil-based sequestration projects – offering inexpensive, real-time and statistically rigorous verification.
“This funding will solidify our leadership position in soil carbon measurement. We’re looking forward to collaborating with all of our investors to instill trust in the sector,” stated Chris Tolles, Co-founder and CEO of Yard Stick.
The recent Series A round attracted investors including Extantia, a climate involved venture capital firm. Other investors in the round included Toyota Ventures Climate Fund, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Pillar VC, and a diverse group of climate-committed founders, angels, and family offices.
Principal at Extantia, Carlota Ochoa Neven Du Mont, stated, “Soil has the potential to store carbon on a gigatonne scale, but updating this potential into reliable carbon offset and insetting projects presents several challenges because of the lack of reliable Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV). We believe that Yard Stick’s technology supplies a level of precision and accessibility that has been previously unseen in this market.”
As cited from ESG Today: source
