How the carbon accounting works

Biogenic capture

Plants pull carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. Left to decay or burn, that biomass returns its carbon to the atmosphere. Turning it into biochar interrupts that cycle and holds the carbon in a stable, carbon-rich solid.

Durable storage in the built environment

Biochar holds its carbon in a form that resists breaking down for centuries. Cast into concrete as a supplementary cementitious material, that carbon stays in place for the service life of the structure. The storage medium is the built environment itself.

Quantification under the Puro.earth Biochar Methodology

Permanent in the absolute sense is a claim you should be skeptical of, from anyone. What we offer instead is durability that is measured rather than asserted. Storage durability will be quantified under the Puro.earth Biochar Methodology, which models carbon retention over a 200-year horizon using a decay function rather than assuming zero loss. That quantified, methodology-anchored durability is what makes biochar a recognized carbon-removal pathway.

Single-claim ownership

A tonne of stored carbon claimed by two parties is worth nothing to either of them. BCS will retain and monetize the carbon-removal certificates for the biochar's stored carbon. Producers and their customers get a lower-carbon mix from using less portland cement, which can show up as lower embodied carbon in the mix's own environmental accounting, subject to the applicable LCA, EPD, and procurement rules. They do not receive or resell the removal claim. One tonne, one claim, one owner is what keeps the certificates verifiable.

What a carbon-removal certificate is

A carbon-removal certificate represents a quantified amount of carbon moved out of the atmosphere and held in durable storage, measured under a published methodology. It is the instrument that lets a removal be counted once and audited against its method. Certificates for the carbon our biochar stores will be issued under the methodology's validation, verification, and audit requirements. BCS has not issued certificates to date and will retain any certificates issued for its biochar.

Questions on the accounting are welcome. Start with the FAQ on permanence and revenue, or contact us directly.