Neutral, a startup founded in 2022 to develop market infrastructure for environmental assets, has announced its decision to close its carbon credit exchange and refocus on carbon accounting technology for climate consultancies.
Launched by founders Farouq Ghandour and Piotr Kosinski during a period of rapid carbon market expansion, Neutral initially designed trading instruments, including CHAR and REDD, for biochar and preservation projects.
Collaborating with partners like Toucan, Renoster, and Puro Earth, the company aimed to create financial tools tailored to environmental markets.
In a company statement, published last week, Neutral said that while it remains confident in the long-term potential of carbon markets, recent stagnation and reduced activity led to the closure of its exchange.
“Our core thesis was that environmental markets require financial instruments that reflect their unique characteristics, not tools modeled on commodity markets for physical goods like corn and oil,” Ghandour, Neutral’s CEO, said in a comment.
Relevant: Neutral Pairs Up With Puro.Earth And Toucan To List CHAR On Its Platform
The chief executive acknowledged the challenges but emphasized the need to adapt to current market realities.
This was an incredibly difficult decision, which gave the company clarity on how they can have the most immediate impact, Ghandour said.
Insights gained from working with climate consultancies shaped Neutral’s new direction.
Many consultancies struggle with manual processes or outdated, expensive tools for carbon accounting and environmental asset management.
Neutral’s new mission is to create technology that supports, rather than replaces, the expertise of these consultancies, enabling them to deliver better services and scale their impact.
We believe that the human element is irreplaceable in carbon accounting, and our goal is to build tools that enhance the work of tech-enabled experts, helping them guide companies toward effective decarbonization and climate solutions, Ghandour explained.
