An Australian software platform that measures greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removal in the land sector has relocated to the US after successfully raising US$9 million in Series A funding.
FLINTpro uses geospatial maps and remote sensing data integrated into scientific models to measure emissions in five types of land uses – agriculture, forests, grasslands, coastal land and soils. The company was established as Mullion Group by renowned climate scientist Dr Rob Waterworth in Canberra in 2014.
The company has opened a new headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado and appointed Tina Morris as chief executive. Morris was formerly chief operating officer of S&P Global Ratings, and also has experience in the US Army and Military Police.
In an interview with The Fifth Estate, Morris said the company would chase opportunities in the corporate, financial and government sectors, as they responded to the US’s Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets.
“We’re very excited to bring this transparent credible technology into the US – a well-integrated technology that can help companies measure their impact and their change.
“We see a great opportunity to influence the US market and eventually the United Kingdom and Europe – these markets are having the greatest pace of change, with large global corporates looking to do net zero projects they and need credible transparency,” Morris said.
FLINTpro will also target financial institutions and asset managers who are looking to measure the carbon footprint of their assets and participate in carbon offset projects. The system is designed so that companies can capture and manage their own data, without having to hire external consultants to perform carbon accounting.
The company’s expansion comes at a time when more companies are seeking nature-based solutions and are looking to the agricultural forestry sectors to sequester and offset carbon in transparent and credible ways.
Dr Waterworth, a UN Framework Committee on Climate Change expert reviewer, will remain in Canberra, where he and a team of researchers will continue to undertake R&D and develop scientific models for the software platform.
The data is sourced from providers of remote satellite imagery. Users can either use preloaded data or upload their own, and there are ways to integrate data into clients’ own existing software platforms using Application Programming Interfaces (API).