Roc leads Series B for Australia carbon credits specialist

James McMurdo, a former Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank executive who now leads Sydney-based merchant banking and investment consultancy Privatus Capital Partners, also invested. Privatus advised Viridios on the transaction and will take a board seat along with Roc.

Viridios provides carbon credit origination, capital markets and asset management services globally, including a software-as-a-service carbon credit data and analytics platform. It also covers sustainable finance and technology advisory with a staff of around 50 across Australia, Europe, and the US.

The company claims its artificial intelligence system has aggregated information on more than 6,900 carbon credit projects globally. This tool is said to allow subscribers also able to access post-trade data, standards, sustainable development goals (SDGs), and ratings for high-demand credits.

Last year, Viridios launched the VT Carbon Fund, which focuses on high-impact sustainability-themed investments, in collaboration with boutique asset manager Tribeca Investment Partners. It claims the fund has delivered double-digit returns to date.

Since its inception in 2019, Viridios claims it has helped nature-based carbon projects remove what would be more than 45 million tonnes of carbon from their operations over the next 10 years. It will use the fresh capital to advance its existing carbon credit platform, including investing in other nature-based credit projects.

“From originating nature-based solutions in Australia and funding projects to treat seaweed sargassum off the coast in Mexico to restoring mangroves in Mozambique, we’re determined to allocate capital to high-quality nature-based projects that have a real and measurable impact on climate change and biodiversity,” Viridios CEO Eddie Listorti said in a statement.

Viridios’ exposure to agriculture is consistent with Roc’s growing interest in agribusiness in light of recent trends around food security and changing diets across Asia. Roc launched an Australasian food fund in 2020 with a corpus of AUD 300m; investments include farmlands management services company Ulupna Pastoral and farming logistics operator Emerald Grain.

Australia is seen as having a relatively advanced carbon credits market and accompanying advisory industry, which has attracted significant private equity interest. As recently as May, Mitsui & Co acquired a 33% stake in Climate Friendly, one of the country’s largest carbon farming project services providers, facilitating a partial exit for Adamantem Capital.

Adamantem bought a majority stake in Climate Friendly last year for AUD 100m, citing a particular interest in carbon farming, the process of reducing emissions through various soil maintenance and vegetation management techniques. Last month, the private equity firm launched an Australasian environmental opportunities fund targeting AUD 350m.

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