London-based independent carbon ratings agency providing science-based quality assessments of voluntary carbon credits to bring standardised integrity ratings to global carbon markets.
Green Score
- Greenwashing risk
- low
- Data confidence
- medium
- Method
- how it is calculated
Climate Impact & Solution35%62
Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.
BeZero's core product improves carbon market integrity and price discovery — demonstrated by its 8-point rating scale commanding an average 40% price premium per notch — but it does not itself avoid or remove emissions; its climate impact is entirely contingent on the integrity of the underlying carbon market it rates.
Decarbonization & Targets20%28
Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.
No evidence of SBTi-validated targets, CDP disclosure, or a published net-zero plan for BeZero's own operations was found; the company discusses these frameworks extensively in client-facing research but has not publicly committed to them itself, resulting in a low score penalized for the absence of verifiable self-disclosure.
ESG & Operations15%45
Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.
BeZero is a knowledge-economy firm with a low direct operational footprint (offices in London, New York, Singapore), around a fifth of employees holding PhDs, and stated governance independence principles, but no public sustainability report, employee data, or third-party ESG audit has been found.
Transparency & Verification15%72
Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.
BeZero is meaningfully more transparent than peers — it is the only carbon ratings agency to publish all headline ratings and rating summaries publicly, and its sector frameworks are open to public scrutiny — but its own corporate disclosures (emissions, governance, financials) remain opaque as a private company.
Integrity15%68
Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.
No major scandals, litigation, or pollution controversies were found, but two latent integrity risks exist: (1) investors including ICE, EDF, Hitachi, and Japan Airlines are active carbon market participants whose interests could theoretically influence ratings, and (2) BeZero's CEO has publicly and sharply lobbied against SBTi rules that limit credit use, signalling a commercially motivated policy stance rather than purely scientific independence.
Why it's on ClimateTicker
BeZero Carbon is a legitimate market-infrastructure enabler: its core product — independent, science-based ratings of voluntary carbon credits — directly addresses the integrity deficit that allows greenwashing to flourish in carbon markets. Its climate value is real but indirect: it does not itself cut or remove emissions, and its commercial growth depends on carbon markets expanding, creating a subtle incentive to view carbon credits favourably. Investors should note that several of its backers (ICE, Japan Airlines, EDF) are active carbon market participants, and no verified data on BeZero's own operational emissions or SBTi commitments has been found.
Commitments & Certifications
Controversy & Greenwashing Watch
BeZero CEO Tommy Ricketts publicly and sharply criticized the SBTi framework for limiting carbon credit use in net-zero targets, a commercially motivated position that raises questions about whether BeZero's policy advocacy is driven by science or by the business case for expanding credit markets.trellis.net
BeZero's business model depends on the growth of voluntary carbon markets that have faced widespread credible criticism for over-crediting, greenwashing, and lack of additionality — risks BeZero acknowledges but cannot fully resolve as a ratings rather than standards body.sciencedirect.com
Key investors including Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), EDF, Hitachi Ventures, and Japan Airlines are active participants in the very carbon markets BeZero rates, creating a structural independence risk that the company's own stated governance principles do not fully resolve.sustainabilitymag.com
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