Salesforce Commits $25 Million to Scale Carbon Removal Technology with Frontier
CRM solutions provider Salesforce announced today a series of new climate and energy transition-related commitments, including a pledge to purchase $25 million of permanent carbon removals from carbon removal coalition Frontier, in addition to the signing of its first European virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), as well as nearly $4 million in clean energy-focused philanthropic grants.
Salesforce’s new carbon removal pledge forms part of the company’s commitment, announced in 2022, as a founding member of the First Movers Coalition (FMC), to contract for $100 million in CO2 removal solutions, in order to help scale Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) solutions through 2030.
Launched in April 2022 with $925 million in commitments by tech companies Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify and Meta and global management consulting firm McKinsey, Frontier is an advance market commitment to buy permanent carbon removal, aimed at accelerating the development of carbon removal technologies with guarantees of future demand. In addition to setting a demand pool for carbon removal, Frontier also vets suppliers, with a focus on solutions with the potential to achieve high volume and low cost.
According to Salesforce, the company’s purchases through Frontier will focus on solutions that store carbon for more than 1,000 years, have a path to affordability at scale, and avoid competing for arable land.
Nan Ransohoff, Head of Frontier, said:
“Demand is a critical part of getting carbon removal to climate-relevant scale. It’s fantastic to see Salesforce is turning commitments into contracts, helping the next generation of carbon removal technologies get to commercial scale.”
Salesforce’s new VPPA was signed with renewable energy investment, management, and development platform Qualitas Energy. The 15-year agreement will enable Qualitas to expand its renewable energy portfolio with a new 27-megawatt (MW) solar portfolio in Italy, anticipated to save over 21,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. The projects are expected to come online in 2024 and early 2025.
According to Salesforce, the new philanthropic grants are aimed at making clean energy affordable and equitable for underrepresented communities, supporting early-stage climate startups, and creating green jobs. Grantees include RE-volv, Groundswell, GRID Alternatives, Planet Reimagined, Working Power, Honnold Foundation, and Evergreen Climate Innovations, with the grants made to help them grow their programs, reach new audiences, develop new solutions, and secure additional funding.
Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer, Salesforce, said:
“To tackle the climate crisis head on, companies must develop a comprehensive climate transition plan. For us, this means investing in and scaling new climate technologies, securing clean energy access in underserved regions of the world, and aligning our corporate philanthropy strategy to ensure no one is left behind.”
