Upstream Tech, an innovator of scalable climate software solutions, has announced today that its Lens earth observation software is now employed by leading corporate sustainability programs, such as Apple’s Restore Fund, to support organizations that have set public targets totaling over 20 million tons of carbon reduction, worldwide, over the next 15 years. To enhance the ability of Lens to help quantify carbon reduction across projects and portfolios, Upstream Tech is adding forest carbon data from Chloris Geospatial and Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) earth observation organizations.
As corporate commitments to voluntary carbon markets increase year over year, in a market estimated by Barclays to be worth a potential $1.5 trillion by 2050, there is a need to create supporting technical infrastructure that will enable the market to scale and ensure quality projects over time.
Upstream Tech’s Lens product enables users to deploy a multitude of different public and private satellite, aerial, and environmental datasets to inspect for changes on project areas, visualize trends over time, and create automated reports.
By adding new cutting-edge forest carbon data sources to Lens, users are able to support selection, monitoring, and verification on a diverse array of nature-based projects in an easy-to-use platform – reducing the requirement for teams to deploy GIS specialists. The incorporation of Planet’s Forest Carbon datasets and Chloris Geospatial’s carbon biomass datasets allow users to select from best-in-class options for monitoring forest characteristics and change over time.
‘The demand for ever more accurate remote earth monitoring is intensifying as carbon investors and buyers become more ambitious in their objectives,’ said Eve Boyce-Ratliff, Director, Upstream Tech. ‘We know that understanding the context and risks associated with carbon project investments, and then tracking project outcomes over the long term, is a particularly acute challenge for our clients and the market more widely. Geographic gaps in data availability, inconsistent data standards, and lack of resources for on-the-ground collection can hinder the ability to track real progress. By addressing these issues with our integrated platform, we’re making it easier for organizations to make investment decisions and monitor project outcomes. The more we understand a project at the outset, and the more we learn about project efficacy over time, the better we can ensure that nature-based solutions are as effective as possible and the better our partners can prioritize their future investments.’
‘With the integration of Planet and Chloris Geospatial data into Lens, we’re combining world-class earth observation data with our software to help carbon market stakeholders reduce complexity, address uncertainty, and make informed stewardship decisions.’
Upstream Tech will be attending the VERGE conference in San Jose, 29th–31st October, contributing to a panel discussion on innovations in monitoring forest carbon. The business has been shortlisted for Trellis’ annual ‘Start-ups to Watch’ award, and will be presenting to attendees on Wednesday 30th October at 10:45 am.
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