Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Global · 2020–2030

Frontier buyers' club, Microsoft and the Puro.earth / Exomad Green biochar deal

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

A buyers' club of technology and consulting firms negotiates prices for carbon removal credits, reviews suppliers and accepts deliveries, while Microsoft bought about 91% of long-term removal tonnes in the first half of 2025. Microsoft's agreement for 1.24 million tonnes of biochar from Bolivia is certified by a registry majority-owned by Nasdaq; no independent investigation of that supply chain was found.

about 91%Microsoft's share of long-term carbon removal purchases, first half of 2025
56.3 of 61.5 million tonnes; Microsoft does not disclose its price.

Status As of mid-2026: Frontier's participation terms were published and its offtakes were scheduled for delivery in 2026–2030; no independent investigation of the Exomad Green supply chain was found.

What?
Buyers' clubs, a dominant buyer and registries shape how carbon removal credits are priced, certified and delivered; the case records the structure of fees and purchases and the absence of independent review of the Bolivian biochar supply chain.
Where?
Global market; Bolivia (Exomad Green biochar), Finland (Puro.earth), Nova Scotia, Canada (Planetary Technologies).
When?
2020 to 2030: Microsoft's purchases from 2020; Nasdaq's acquisition of Puro.earth in 2021; Frontier's first offtake in May 2023; the Microsoft–Exomad agreement in 2025; deliveries scheduled to 2030.
Who?
Gained
  • Puro.earth (majority-owned by Nasdaq) — Receives a per-credit fee from suppliers on first sale of each credit. Puro.earth
  • Exomad Green — Holds a ten-year agreement with Microsoft for 1.24 million tonnes. DatacenterDynamics
  • Charm Industrial and Planetary Technologies — Received Frontier offtakes of $53 million (112,000 t) and $31.3 million (115,211 credits) respectively. Frontier
  • Frontier — Members pay an annual fee of 0.5–2% on commitments of at least $10 million. Frontier
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Buyers commit in advance to tonnes of carbon removal to be delivered later through offtake contracts, and rely on registries to certify the credits.
How?
Frontier negotiates one price for all members and carries out supplier review and delivery acceptance; Puro.earth charges suppliers per credit; Isometric states it charges only the buyer a fixed fee. Frontier
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Carbon removal is the claim that carbon dioxide has been drawn from the air and stored for a long period; direct air capture, biochar and rock weathering are examples. A credit stands for one tonne. An offtake is a purchase contract made in advance for tonnes to be delivered later. This case follows three parts of that market: a buyers' club (Frontier), the largest single buyer (Microsoft) and the registries that certify the credits (Puro.earth and Isometric).

Frontier is a public-benefit limited company. According to its participation page, Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta and McKinsey Sustainability are founding members. Members commit at least $10 million and pay an annual fee of 0.5–2%. The page states that Frontier negotiates the price, that every member pays the same price, and that supplier review and acceptance of deliveries are carried out by Frontier. Its first offtake, announced on 18 May 2023, was with Charm Industrial: $53 million for 112,000 tonnes, for delivery from 2024 to 2030. Buyers named in that announcement were Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, McKinsey Sustainability, Autodesk, H&M and Workday. Frontier prices in 2025 ranged from $316 to $651 per tonne. Frontier also agreed to buy 115,211 credits from Planetary Technologies, a Nova Scotia ocean alkalinity company, for $31.3 million, with deliveries in 2026–2030.

In the first half of 2025 Microsoft accounted for 56.3 million of 61.5 million tonnes of long-term removal purchases, about 91%; 74.2% of its purchases were nature-based projects. Its share of permanent removal purchases since 2020 is about 79.5%, according to CDR.fyi data cited in secondary reports. Microsoft does not disclose its prices. In 2025 Microsoft agreed to buy 1.24 million tonnes over ten years from Exomad Green, a Bolivian biochar producer whose product is certified by Puro.earth; the feedstock is sawmill residue. No independent investigation of this supply chain was found in the sources reviewed.

Nasdaq bought a majority stake in Puro.earth in 2021 and led a further funding round in September 2025. Puro.earth charges the supplier, per credit, when the credit is first sold; since October 2024 the fee runs through 37 tiers from €10 to €0.40 per credit, with a fixed €12,000 for up to 1,000 credits. Isometric, a newer registry, wrote in December 2023 that it charges only the buyer, a fixed fee independent of the number of credits; no independent assessment of that statement was found. Its first credits went to Frontier buyers.

  1. 2020Start of the period in which Microsoft accounts for about 79.5% of permanent carbon removal purchases (CDR.fyi data)
  2. 2021Nasdaq acquires a majority stake in Puro.earth
  3. 2023Frontier announces its first offtake, with Charm Industrial: $53m for 112,000 t (18 May); Isometric publishes its fee-model statement (8 Dec)
  4. 2024Puro.earth per-credit fee schedule in force from October
  5. 2025Microsoft about 91% of long-term removal purchases in H1; Microsoft–Exomad Green agreement for 1.24m t over ten years; Nasdaq leads a Puro.earth funding round in September
  6. 2026Frontier's offtake with Planetary Technologies begins its 2026–2030 delivery period

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Carbon removal buyers' clubs and registries are presented as offering independent scientific review and rigorous measurement, reporting and verification.
    Market positioning of the carbon removal sector (general characterisation; no single speaker named)
  • A registry that charges only the buyer, a fixed fee not tied to the number of credits, to align incentives.
    Isometric, 8 December 2023 · Isometric

Recorded

  • Frontier's participation terms place price negotiation, supplier review and acceptance of deliveries with Frontier, whose members are the buyers.
    Frontier
  • Puro.earth charges suppliers per credit on first sale (from €10 down to €0.40 across 37 tiers), so its fee revenue depends on the number of credits sold.
    Puro.earth
  • Nasdaq owns a majority of Puro.earth.
    Nasdaq (via Mondo Visione)
  • Microsoft agreed to buy 1.24 million tonnes of biochar credits over ten years from Exomad Green, a Puro-certified Bolivian producer using sawmill residue as feedstock.
    DatacenterDynamics
  • Microsoft was the buyer of 56.3 of 61.5 million tonnes of long-term removal purchases in H1 2025 and does not disclose its price.
  • Isometric says it selects and pays the auditor itself and takes its fee from the buyer rather than the developer; the sources reviewed it is small and new and that it is unclear whether the model will scale.

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Microsoft share of long-term removal purchases, H1 2025
about 91%
56.3 of 61.5 million tonnes; price undisclosed
Independent investigation of the Exomad Green supply chain
None found
Microsoft agreement for 1.24m t over ten years
Independent assessment of Isometric's fee model
None found
The fee model is the company's own statement

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

Court

Record

  • Not disclosed Microsoft's purchase prices are not disclosed.
  • None on record No independent investigation of the Exomad Green supply chain, including its feedstock, was found.
  • None on record No independent assessment of Isometric's statement that its fee does not depend on the number of credits was found.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Lowercarbon Capital appears to have invested in Frontier suppliers Charm Industrial and Heirloom; the information comes only from investment-aggregator sites.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Isometric's investors (Lowercarbon Capital and Plural in a $25 million seed round; ICE in a $50 million Series A) and the figures for those rounds; the research source for this item is marked as partly unconfirmed.
  • Unclear Whether Isometric's model will scale is not established.
  • None on record Marine carbon removal figures, a Carbon Pulse headline that over 90% of marine removal credits had not yet been delivered, were seen as a headline only; the article body was not accessed.

Did the harm stop?

No harm to nature is recorded in this case; the record concerns how removal credits are bought, priced and certified.

Who paid?

Fees fall on different parties: Frontier members pay an annual fee of 0.5–2%; Puro.earth charges suppliers per credit on first sale; Isometric states it charges only the buyer a fixed fee. Microsoft's own purchase prices are not disclosed.

Sources

Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Company or project

  4. Puro.earth fees
    Puro.earth · 2024-10
  5. Isometric, "Aligning incentives"
    Isometric · 2023-12-08

Press and investigations

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Carbon and conservation finance

Standard-setter and registry
An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
Similar cases
Carbon credits · Bolivia · 1997–2010
Bolivian carbon scheme claimed 55 million tonnes; review found at most 5.8 million
Same type: Carbon creditsSame countryHarm to nature not measured