Octopus Investments and tech startup Treeconomy have been awarded funding by the UK Space Agency to undertake earth observation, with a view to supporting the asset manager’s natural capital investments. The partners secured a grant under the agency’s ‘Unlocking Space for Business’ scheme, which fosters innovation by combining satellite data and services with other data sources and technology to drive benefits for businesses in both financial services and transport and logistics. Octopus’s natural capital strategy aims to generate high-integrity carbon removal credits through investment in conservation, nature restoration, and sustainable land management. The firm has partnered with Treeconomy as part of its commitment to using technology to achieve efficiency and impact through natural capital investments. The project aims to pilot and embed the use of satellite-based analytics and data tools to guide investment decisions related to nature-based carbon projects, such as afforestation. Investment underwriting principles will be used to develop, refine and integrate a satellite data product within Octopus’ standard due diligence, evaluation, and reporting workflows. Treeconomy will provide Octopus with digital measurement, reporting, and verification services for carbon and nature projects, which will help the firm to monitor, measure, and verify high-integrity carbon credit projects in a transparent and cost-effective manner. “We strongly believe that satellite-based insight, pioneered in the UK, can bring vital speed, trust, traceability, and transparency that has historically been missing from carbon markets,” said Alex Godfrey, Investment Director at Octopus Investments.
