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TechCrunch plus-bold TechCrunch Login Join TechCrunch+ Searchsearch * TechCrunch+ * Startups * Venture * Security * AI * Crypto * Apps * Events * Startup Battlefield * More Close Screen x(opens in a new window)facebook(opens in a new window)linkedin(opens in a new window)reddit(opens in a new window)mail(opens in a new window)Copy Share Link Link CopiedLink Copied TechCrunch plus-bold Fundraising BEND IS TAKING ON BREX AND RAMP WITH A GREEN TWIST AND A $2.5M SEED ROUND Tim De Chant, Alex Wilhelm / 11:00 AM PDT•May 3, 2023 cameraImage Credits: Getty Images When the SEC announced that it planned to require companies under its purview to disclose their climate-related risks and emissions, plenty of companies started publicly clutching their pearls. Tracking down the extent of their pollution would simply be either too expensive, too difficult or both, they said. No surprise there: Companies strike a similar tone every time a new regulation is proposed. The reality is that the requirement likely won’t be nearly as difficult as they claim, but what if tracking some of their most challenging emissions were as simple as swapping out their corporate spend cards? “For most companies, 75% to 80% of their emissions typically are Scope 3 emissions, which is all the goods and services that they’re buying,” said Ted Power, co-founder and CEO of Bend. “And so what that means is that the best way for companies to reduce their missions is to address all of those goods and services they’re buying.” Power and co-founder Thomas Moore started Bend to help companies tackle their Scope 3 emissions. The startup began by selling access to its API for carbon accounting, but the team soon shifted focus to the corporate spend market. “The thesis is that by making it free and embedding it in a corporate card, there’s a much bigger addressable market, and we can engage more folks in what is essentially the same thing under the hood in terms of the carbon accounting,” Power said. Like many other credit cards, Bend offers rewards, though not the usual cash back or points-based fare. Instead, it offers carbon offsets. The company is announcing a $2.5 million seed round, TechCrunch+ has exclusively learned. Since it’s a small team, the company has piggybacked on a selection of projects from Frontier, the advanced market commitment created by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify and others. Carbon credits are transacted through Patch, the carbon market. That offers a few advantages compared with a DIY approach. For one, Patch has a relatively large market of vetted projects. And two, it offers a sort of insurance: If one of the projects goes bust or doesn’t deliver on its promises, buyers can swap credits for new ones. Bend only buys those that cost at least $100 per metric ton. “It’s investing in these very scalable carbon very sort of scientifically based carbon removal projects that, if successful, will come down the cost curve,” Power said. Bend’s current roster of projects includes CarbonCapture, Charm Industrial and Living Carbon. The first two are different approaches to carbon capture and storage, while the latter uses engineered trees that grow faster and in theory sequester more carbon (experts have raised questions about whether they really do, however). That lineup may change, of course. “Ultimately, our goal is to support the best projects,” Power said. A CROWDED MARKET TechCrunch+ has covered the corporate spend market exhaustively in recent years due to a hotbed of startup activity. Brex, Ramp and Airbase, among the better-known, yet-private unicorns competing from the U.S. market, have raised more than $3 billion in combined capital while private, according to Crunchbase data. More TechCrunch SBF’S DEFENSE PUTS FORTH A 35-MINUTE LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO SHOW HIS GOODWILL WHY COMCAST BUILT AN ACCELERATOR TO NURTURE SPORTS STARTUPS THE MOST VALUABLE STARTUPS ARE GETTING CLOSER TO PROFITABILITY, BUT AT A COST AI IS FINALLY RESULTING IN REAL GROWTH FOR BIG TECH SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS See all newsletters(opens in a new window) Daily Week in Review Startups Weekly Event Updates Advertising Updates TechCrunch+ Announcements TechCrunch+ Events TechCrunch+ Roundup EmailSubscribe x(opens in a new window)facebook(opens in a new window)linkedin(opens in a new window)reddit(opens in a new window)mail(opens in a new window)Copy Share Link checkmarkCopy TAGS * carbon accounting * corporate spend * credit cards * EC Fintech * EC Food Climate and Sustainability TechCrunch plus-bold Fundraising BEND IS TAKING ON BREX AND RAMP WITH A GREEN TWIST AND A $2.5M SEED ROUND Tim De Chant, Alex Wilhelm 11:00 AM PDT•May 3, 2023 Like many other credit cards, Bend offers rewards, though not the usual cash back or points-based fare. Instead, it offers carbon offsets. AI WHO’S GOING (AND WHO’S NOT) TO THE AI SAFETY SUMMIT AT BLETCHLEY PARK? Ingrid Lunden 4:56 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 Ahead of the AI Safety Summit starting tomorrow morning taking place outside of London in Bletchley Park, today, the U.K. government has confirmed more details about who is actually going to be att... Startups WEWORK REPORTEDLY ON THE VERGE OF FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY, STOCK PLUMMETS Mary Ann Azevedo 3:13 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 WeWork is on the verge of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. If WeWork does indeed file, it shouldn’t come as a shock to cl... Space FAA COMPLETES SPACEX STARSHIP SAFETY REVIEW AS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REMAINS ONGOING Aria Alamalhodaei 2:16 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 The Federal Aviation Administration has finished a key portion of the launch license review for SpaceX’s Starship, bringing the company one step closer to a second launch. Regulators said Tuesday t... Apps GOOGLE AND MATCH GROUP REACH SETTLEMENT IN APP STORE ANTITRUST CASE Sarah Perez 2:02 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 Google and Match announced today they’ve reached a settlement in the antitrust battle Match waged against the tech giant, even as the court case continues with Fortnite maker Epic Games. As p... TechCrunch plus-bold Growth WHY COMCAST BUILT AN ACCELERATOR TO NURTURE SPORTS STARTUPS Ron Miller 1:00 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 Comcast, a division of NBCUniversal, which broadcasts multiple sports, developed an accelerator to help encourage sports tech startups. Social SO LONG, TWITTER CIRCLES Amanda Silberling 12:58 PM PDT•October 31, 2023 X, the app formerly known as Twitter, has shut down the Circles feature, which allowed users to post to a small, exclusive audience. 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But Quora’s AI chatbot platform Po... * About * TechCrunch * Staff * Contact Us * Advertise * Crunchboard Jobs * Site Map * Legal * Terms of Service * Privacy Policy * TechCrunch+ Terms * RSS Terms of Use * Privacy Dashboard * Code of Conduct * About Our Ads * Trending Tech Topics * SBF Trial * Apple Event * Apple Journal App * Biden AI Executive Order * SEC Solar Winds * Tech Layoffs * ChatGPT FacebookFacebook(opens in a new window)XX(opens in a new window)YouTubeYouTube(opens in a new window)InstagramInstagram(opens in a new window)LinkedInLinkedIn(opens in a new window)MastodonMastodon(opens in a new window) © 2023 Yahoo.All rights reserved.Powered by WordPress VIP(opens in a new window).