Yes. We are a registered non-profit public benefit corporation in California that is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. Our commitment and responsibility is to the public's interest in a safe and stable climate, not to shareholders.
Good question! Carbon removal is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in a durable, ideally permanent, form. It's a nascent field, and several methods are being explored and developed, including natural or biological solutions (e.g. forests, soil), engineered systems (e.g. direct air capture, enhanced mineralization), and more . Note that some technologies can play a role in carbon removal but are not, on their own, carbon removal systems — you can read more about this distinction in an article we wrote. In some places carbon removal is referred to as "Carbon Dioxide Removal" or CDR. Also note that the phrase "Negative Emissions Technologies" or NETs is sometimes used to describe technologies that implement carbon removal.
No, we are not a verifier. Several organizations act as third-party verifiers in the space of carbon removal and carbon offsets. We play a different role. We validate the scientific integrity of projects and technologies. Our focus is understanding, quantifying, and clarifying the underlying data and science. Using this information, we help guide future procurement and deployment decisions.
We receive a mix of unrestricted funding through donations and grants, and project-specific funding through contracts and grants. In both cases we list publicly all sources of funding greater than $1000. For project-specific funding, we list as soon as the project, or our involvement in the project, becomes public. We also include the terms and conditions of our engagements. View our list of funding sources.
We've been working with Ordinary Things (formerly known as Cast Iron Design). They are incredible. They developed the brand and design system and we work collaboratively on site design and implementation. Talk to them about your next project. Seriously.