We reached out to some of our current ESA BIC UK incubatees to discuss the #WorldSpaceWeek space and sustainability theme. We asked them a couple of questions about their company and how they are tackling sustainability challenges both on earth and in space!

First up we spoke to Robert Godfrey from Treeconomy.

Treeconomy are a nature-based carbon removal company, on a mission to unlock nature’s value and therefore a perfect example for this year’s World Space Week theme. Treeconomy use earth observation data in various forms, and they joined the ESA BIC UK to access valuable funding and expertise.

Here is what Rob had to say:

How are you using space technology to tackle sustainability challenges in space or on earth?

We take advantage of ever-improving satellite-based sensing in our daily efforts to map, measure, and monitor forests and the carbon they sequester. With the help of earth observation data and AI, we are bringing needed transparency, traceability, and trust to nature-based carbon offsetting. Ultimately, we’re working to push masses of finance towards genuinely impactful and accountable ecosystem restoration projects. By using tech to address fundamental issues with offsetting, we’re unlocking nature’s power to combat climate change, while enhancing biodiversity and improving rural livelihoods.

What measures have you/do you intend to put in place to be a sustainable company?

We were founded with an explicit impact mission and we’ve ensured our business model reflects that, by tying our revenues to genuine outcomes, such as hectares of land reforested and tonnes of carbon provably sequestered. We maintain our own project quality standards that greatly exceed those of existing certification schemes — for example, by requiring diverse, native-first, and low-impact reforestation practices. In an industry that has often taken advantage of rural communities, we are staunchly committed to transparency, fairness and a model that generously rewards landowner partners for their work as ecosystem stewards. We’re proud members of a number of impact tech initiatives and alliances and are always seeking ways to join with others to share, learn and multiply collective impact. We strive to be an example of regenerative business in action and have much more planned in the near future!

Find out more about Treeconomy: https://www.treeconomy.co/

Image credit: Getty Images