Our Story

 

  • TerraCarbon LLC ® is a leading advisory firm that helps develop carbon offset projects to fund nature-based climate solutions. We believe new models that place an economic value on nature are needed to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

    We have helped our clients access carbon offset funding to restore, improve management, and protect 5 million+ acres of natural and working lands for 40+ projects around the world that have already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million+ tons.

  • We operate under a traditional fee for service consulting model and do not take equity ownership or credit ownership in the projects that we advise. This model puts us on the same side of the table as our clients and allows us to provide independent advice and to prioritize rigorous greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and market integrity in all of our work.

  • TerraCarbon was formed in 2006 by Scott Settelmyer, former CFO of the Chicago Climate Exchange, and Dr. Bernhard Schlamadinger, one of the world’s leading forest carbon experts. Scott and Bernhard recognized the significant potential of forests, wetlands, and agricultural lands to capture and store carbon, and believed that carbon markets, designed properly and underpinned by good science, could help solve the climate and biodiversity crises. They also recognized the complexities of emerging carbon markets and the need for specialized expertise to help land owners and managers gain access to this new source of funding. In 2008, David Shoch, formerly of Winrock International and The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Science team, joined as a third partner. That same year, after Bernhard’s unfortunate passing, Scott and David recommitted themselves to pursuing TerraCarbon’s twin goals of addressing climate change while protecting nature, achieving B Corp certification for TerraCarbon in 2012 to institutionalize this commitment

Our guiding principles

  • Science

    The markets for ecosystem services are credible only if they are supported by sound science. We hire and partner with experts in the fields of forestry, wetland ecology, soil sciences, agronomy, and remote sensing.​

  • Trust

    The trust of our clients and partners is critical to building a successful collaboration. We build trust by being transparent and consistently delivering on our commitments.

  • Collaboration

    Effective projects require the collaboration of various stakeholders. We collaborate by listening to our clients and building project teams that include clients, partner organizations, and local stakeholders.

  • Capacity Building

    The sustained success of carbon project activities depends on building strong local capacities. We freely share knowledge and train local people to build these capacities.

  • Equity and Inclusion

    Diversity of backgrounds and experience is key to developing innovative and effective NCS, and carbon markets and projects should benefit all people who live and depend on the land and natural resources for their livelihoods.

 
 

We are a Certified B Corporation.

This means we have been certified by the non-profit B Lab for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. As a Certified B Corp, and unlike traditional corporations, we’re legally required to consider the impact of our decisions on our clients, employees, suppliers, community, and the environment.

We at TerraCarbon became a Certified B Corp in 2012 to demonstrate that our business has a higher purpose than simply profit: to drive market-based funding to natural climate solutions that can address climate change and protect nature.