Auto Trader announces partnership with UNDO, enhanced rock weathering supplier
Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive platform has announced a new partnership with UNDO, the leading nature-enabled permanent carbon dioxide removal company.
As part of Auto Trader’s environmental strategy Putting the brakes on carbon, which is driven by the company purpose to ‘Drive Change Together, Responsibly’, Auto Trader is committed to being net zero by 2040. The Science Based Targets initiative, which Auto Trader is committed to, define net zero as “a state of balance between emissions and removals” in regards to the impact of human activities.1
Auto Trader plans to achieve this goal through significant reduction (90%) in carbon emissions. The remaining 10% of emissions will be addressed through carbon contribution projects focusing on carbon removal. The UNDO partnership is the first carbon removal project to be revealed by Auto Trader and will rely on enhanced rock weathering (ERW) to capture and lock carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The agreement uses the ICROA-endorsed Puro Standard methodology to quantify high-quality, high-durability CO₂ Removal Certificates (CORCs). ICROA is the voluntary carbon market’s provider of best practice guidelines.
We’re so excited to work with UNDO to not only permanently remove carbon dioxide but to support their verification processes so we can better understand the impact of their work as they scale.
As part of the agreement with Auto Trader, UNDO will spread 1,839 tonnes of mineral-rich basalt rock on agricultural land in the UK, which will permanently remove approximately 340 tonnes of CO₂.
The rock that is spread is an existing aggregate product supplied by UNDO’s network of quarries across North East England and spread using existing machinery. As well as funding UNDO’s ERW operations, Auto Trader will be funding the company’s Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) enhancement and agronomy trials.
We’re so excited to work with UNDO to not only permanently remove carbon dioxide but to support their verification processes so we can better understand the impact of their work as they scale. Data and technology will play key roles in fighting the climate emergency and so this work is absolutely vital, so we’re incredibly proud to play a small part in that. This initiative is on top of our carbon reduction efforts and is by no means an alternative to doing our best to reduce our emissions in line with our Net Zero commitment."
Christos Tsaprounis, People & Culture Director
ERW is a scalable technology with significant co-benefits to soil health and crop yields. It accelerates the natural geological process of weathering, whereby the CO₂ in rainwater interacts with silicate rocks such as basalt, forming bicarbonate ions which are transported to the ocean where it is stable over geological time. As this mineral-rich volcanic rock breaks down it releases magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and other nutrients, increasing crop yield, raising and stabilising soil pH and ultimately reducing the need for fertilisers.
UNDO is currently establishing a range of operational partnerships that will enable the spreading of millions of tonnes of basalt each year. Its immediate aim is to spread enough rock by 2025 to remove one million tonnes of CO₂, a first step towards billion-tonne scale operations. Auto Trader joins the likes of Microsoft and Stripe as the latest from the technology sector to partner with UNDO.
We’re proud that Auto Trader has selected UNDO as its first enhanced rock weathering supplier. Our approach represents one of the most robust climate-tech solutions available today because it is permanent, highly scalable, and provides a host of co-benefits. With the support of our commercial partners, we are committed to creating a liveable planet for future generations."
Jim Mann, co-founder & CEO at UNDO
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