Based in Pontevedra, AirCO2 was founded in 2014 with the aim of delivering a unique value service in the market: offsetting the carbon footprint of companies and providing financial resources to forest owners to improve their forestry practices, thus recognising their important work and providing a solution to the thousands of owners of the 15 million hectares of woodland in the country.

AirCO2 sets itself apart in the market because of its focus on transparency, anti-speculation and proportionality, which are essential for valid carbon credits. "Transparency because we work right at the source: you don't have to travel to the Amazon to see if the trees you were promised are there or not, because you offset your carbon footprint in projects so local that you can go and visit them on any given Sunday," explains Máximo Sánchez, CEO and co-founder of AirCO2. In addition, the company operates on an annual basis, avoiding any speculation of future removals, and emphasises that compensating for forest fires is not additionality (in the context of carbon credits, meaning that a carbon project must generate emission reductions or removals that would not have occurred without the project), but "a stopgap, a project to try to recapture the CO2 that was let off during the forest fire".

How does AirCO2 work?

AirCO2 offers services to two types of users: businesses and forest owners. "We take the entrepreneur by the hand to calculate, reduce and compensate for their carbon footprint; for the forest owner, we analyse their annual carbon absorption capacity and allow them to sell that amount of CO2 on our platform, as long as they meet our conditions (forest management, anti-forest fire practices, etc.)," says Máximo Sánchez.

The advantages for both sides are clear. For companies, it's a simple, digital process. "The entire process of calculation, preparation of the carbon footprint reduction plan and offsetting is carried out online to make it simpler for the business owner and with customer service to give them the coverage they need. A company that audits its footprint also knows where it can implement changes that can result in lower energy consumption or efficiency in its processes and, therefore, in savings in its daily operations," he says.

On the other hand, the forest owner "provides a service on a daily basis, an unpaid service" that people assume will always be the case. But why look after or manage a farm if they don't value it? By selling credits, a forest owner can increase their annual profitability by more than 30%.

Market penetration

AirCO2 is present in several autonomous communities in Spain, including Galicia, Asturias, Castilla y León, Extremadura, the Canary Islands, Andalusia and Catalonia. In addition, they have expanded their operations internationally into Poland, in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and plan to start operations in Portugal in early 2024. The company has gained recognition from domestic and foreign investors, as well as from institutions such as the European Union through the Digital SME Alliance and the Casa do Impacto in Lisbon.

The prospects for the future are good. "In less than a year of commercial activity, we have surpassed the Ministry of Ecological Transition in the number of hectares compensated in nine years of operation," Sánchez continues. He stresses that, despite the growing demand for sustainability, concrete actions at the business level are often scarce. The transition to more sustainable practices is a gradual process, but AirCO2 is ready to play a crucial role in this shift towards a greener and more sustainable economy.