Starling picks eight carbon capture projects to invest in

Last year neobank Starling outlined its commitment to offset its annual emissions, and this week the fintech outlined some of the projects it’s backing to do just that.

By buying certified carbon credits in eight carbon capture projects Starling says it is offsetting all of its own emissions from 2021.

The projects include two from Carbon Footprint Ltd, one that’s planting trees in the UK and Amazon Rainforest, with the other working to legally protect the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia.

Other projects include a reforestation programme in Nicaragua, one of three projects provided by C-Level, others include reforestation in Uganda and mangrove forest conservation in Kenya.

Lastly and also from Carbon Footprint Ltd, there’s a solar power plant project in India and a project in Malawi to provide 8,000 cookstoves to homes, and from Forest Carbon a project to restore peatland to the borders of Scotland.

For the year leading up to 31 March 2021, Starling’s total emissions were 7,731 tonnes of CO2, with its investments looking to offset this figure.

“We know that many of our customers care deeply about the environment. Our partnership with brands such as Trillion Trees and projects with Carbon Footprint enable us to make a permanent positive change to the planet which aligns perfectly with our desire to grow sustainably,” a Starling spokesperson told AltFi.

While these projects are obviously brilliant, they’re also just the start for Starling’s journey to net zero, which also involves the bank reducing its own emissions by a third by 2030.

The bank also says it plans to reach net zero in line with the latest Science Based Target initiative guidelines—which is a framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science.

Note, all the projects mentioned above are separate from Starling’s existing relationship with Trillion Trees, through which the bank has planted more than 50,000 trees through its “refer a friend and we’ll plant a tree” initiative.