August 21, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

Tokyo-based Creattura, a carbon credit trading platform, has secured JPY 350 million (US$2.4 million) in a Series A first-close financing from Japanese venture capital powerhouses DBJ Capital and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital. Creattura plans to direct the capital injection toward an expansion push including project development and technology product development on both domestic and international scales.

Creattura is committed to restoring natural capital, including the biodiversity of land and water, through climate change solutions involving technology and finance. The company trades roughly 400,000 tons of carbon credits each year and is looking to increase this amount to multiple millions by 2028, as reported by the Carbon Herald. It plans to do this through Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism, a program through which the country lends technical support to developing countries for the reduction and absorption of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions around the world. In exchange, these lower emissions generate carbon credits than can then be purchased by Japanese businesses to offset their carbon footprints.

Japan is also spearheading a GHG gas reduction labeling system for agricultural products. The program, which was introduced by the the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), comprises a labeling system for nearly two-dozen domestically-produced agricultural products. Similar to much of the carbon market, participation in this system is voluntary, allowing producers to indicate when products are produced using sustainable practices and thereby release lower GHG emissions compared with traditional cultivation methods. The classification system was launched at the end of Q1 on the heels of a two-year pilot project.

Creattura’s roadmap includes the launch a new service by year-end to help rice farmers reduce carbon emissions through the harnessing of AI and satellite technology. With the initial rollout planned in the Philippines, Creattura will later expand the initiative to other Southeast Asian countries. Rice production is responsible for 12 percent of the global ag industry’s methane emissions and 1.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a trend that Creattura is looking to reverse through its tech-based solutions.

Creattura CEO and Representative Director Tomomichi Hattori stated, “We are extremely proud to have received investment from two renowned Japanese VCs, DBJ Capital and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital. This July has been reported as the hottest summer since meteorological observations began, and we believe that most people are experiencing abnormal changes in weather firsthand. These climate changes are starting to have negative economic impacts on human society, manifesting as localized disasters due to heavy rain, high temperatures, impacts on agriculture from droughts and floods, and outbreaks of disease. Since our society is built upon this natural capital, addressing climate change, which is the foundation of this capital, is recognized by us as the most important challenge for leaving a sustainable society for future generations.”

DBJ Capital Senior Investment Manager Yoshitake Ishimoto said, “We are honored to participate in Creattura’s Series A funding round. We view carbon credits as a promising solution for achieving carbon neutrality and have high expectations for our business strategy, which involves global expansion while ensuring reliability. As a venture capital firm under a government-affiliated financial institution, DBJ Capital will actively support your business and work on addressing global challenges related to carbon neutrality.”

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital Investment Development Associate Shungo Takagi stated, “As global trading of greenhouse gas emissions through carbon credit systems expands, there is a rapid increase in domestic companies’ commitment in Japan, driven by upcoming regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and the full-scale operation of the carbon credit trading market. We are confident that, with the solutions provided by Creattura, you will create a trading environment where domestic companies contributing to decarbonization are accurately recognized as leading companies offering valuable services to both the supply and demand sides of the carbon credit market.”

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