Salesforce launches carbon credit trading marketplace
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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) said on Tuesday that it would launch a new marketplace to trade carbon credits that will let companies and organizations accelerate their "climate positive impact at scale."
The new platform, known as Net Zero Marketplace, is slated to be available in the U.S. in October and around the world next year and will launch with nearly 90 projects across 11 countries. Buyers can see the project descriptions, which include areas such as forest conservation, tree planting, wind farms, solar cookstoves and more.
Buyers will be able to align with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and in some cases, third-party ratings.
"The uptick in extreme weather events shows that no one is spared from climate change — we need smart climate solutions now," said Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer, Salesforce, in a statement.
The new platform is built on Salesforce's (CRM) Commerce Cloud and will connect carbon credit buyers and environmentally-focused entrepreneurs, while complementing long-term emissions reductions.
"Carbon credits are a way to incentivize further emissions reductions by placing a price on carbon and making an impact now, while other climate efforts are also underway," said Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary, UN Convention on Climate Change.
The launch of a new carbon credit trading platform puts Salesforce (CRM) in competition with a number of other platforms already up and running, including Xpansiv, CTX Global and others.
Companies can buy carbon credits to help offset their emissions and if they buy enough, they can claim they are carbon neutral. However, there has been some pushback, as looking for and verifying the quality of the carbon credit can be tedious and oftentimes, laborious.
Salesforce (CRM) said its new platform will offer a level of transparency by aggregating and publishing third-party ratings to let organizations figure out which carbon credits work for them.
The Marc Benioff-led Salesforce (CRM) is set to host its annual Dreamforce conference starting on Tuesday, with the event coming at a time of uncharacteristic investor uncertainty for the cloud computing giant.