Executive Summary
To reach its net zero by 2040 goal, global financial technology leader PayPal recognized the need to balance its residual emissions through high-integrity carbon dioxide removals (CDR). Facing the complexity of the emerging CDR market and dynamic guidance from standards bodies, PayPal recognized it needed a partner with deep technical experience, expertise in navigating standards, and market access.
Building on an existing collaboration in renewable energy, PayPal partnered with 3Degrees to navigate their first foray into removals. 3Degrees curated a diversified portfolio of high-durability projects using its expertise as a project developer focused on biochar origination, including artisanal biochar in India and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in North Dakota, that met PayPal’s rigorous standards for credibility and community impact.
With this project, PayPal achieved:
Curated portfolio including Heartyculture Biochar, which supports farmers in India, and Gevo North Dakota, one of fewer than 10 global BECCS projects currently delivering credits.
Exhaustive registry, methodology, and operational audits to ensure all projects delivered verified, permanent removals.
Aggregated demand allowing procurement of smaller volumes of high-durable credits at competitive pricing.
A scalable, high-integrity pathway for PayPal to address residual emissions on its journey toward its 2040 climate targets.
Through this collaboration, PayPal has moved beyond traditional emissions reductions to actively catalyze the emerging CDR market, ensuring its climate investments deliver maximum environmental and social value.
Background
PayPal is a leading global financial technology company with a robust climate strategy, including a public commitment to reach net zero by 2040. To support this goal, PayPal moved beyond its existing emissions-reduction initiatives. The organization understands that investing in carbon removals is a key to balancing remaining, or residual, emissions.
While there are many types of high-durability carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects, PayPal had a particular interest in biochar after an introduction to it through its corporate social impact program. As this would be the company’s first foray into complex CDR markets, PayPal sought a trusted partner to ensure biochar was a viable solution and to navigate the broader carbon removal landscape. Building on a successful track record of global energy attribute certificate (EAC) collaboration, PayPal tapped into 3Degrees’ deep technical roots as a CDR developer with a focus on biochar origination. With their existing partnership, 3Degrees was able to move swiftly to meet PayPal’s CDR needs with a diversified, high-integrity portfolio that balanced immediate community co-benefits with cutting-edge carbon sequestration technology.
Challenges
Entering the emerging CDR market presented several high-level barriers for PayPal as a first-time buyer. Notably, they needed a trusted partner with both deep market access and the technical capability to objectively evaluate potential projects. This was particularly important as PayPal sought to support emerging project types, including an artisanal biochar project, where rigorous due diligence was required to assess long-term viability and ensure the integrity of the removals.
At the same time, structural barriers in the market made it difficult to access projects at the scale PayPal sought. Many high-durability removal pathways—such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and biochar—typically rely on large capital commitments or long-term offtake agreements. PayPal, however, was interested in spot purchase volumes that are often harder to secure and may not qualify for competitive pricing in these early-stage markets.
Ultimately, PayPal’s priority was to ensure that any projects in its portfolio were technically sound, capable of delivering the expected carbon removals, and aligned with the high-integrity standards the company wanted to stand behind.
How we helped
3Degrees acted as the essential bridge between PayPal and the CDR market, leveraging decades of experience as a developer and participant to provide three core solutions:
1. Strategic Project Selection
3Degrees supported PayPal in curating a CDR portfolio that met their specific philanthropic and climate goals:
PayPal invested in Heartyculture Biochar, a project in India that converts agricultural waste (like cotton stalks) into stable carbon through pyrolysis. This project prevents open-field burning, reduces air pollution, and provides farmers with a soil amendment that enhances fertility and permanently sequesters carbon.
PayPal supported Gevo North Dakota, a unique BECCS project. BECCS facilities capture biogenic carbon dioxide from fermentation and inject it deep underground for permanent geological storage. Notably, Gevo is among the few such projects currently delivering credits globally. The North Dakota project supports local jobs, uses corn sourced primarily from local farms, and follows a circular-economy model.
2. Rigorous Technical Due Diligence
3Degrees conducted a deep dive into each project to ensure its credibility and provide peace of mind:
3Degrees evaluated the standard bodies, the project methodology, and the technical carbon accounting practices used on the ground.
The 3Degrees team reviewed technical documents and audits to ensure the projects would deliver the exact removals expected.
As a long-standing project developer with a vast library of removal projects and stringent project due diligence, 3Degrees was able to guarantee delivery volumes, offering PayPal a level of security often not attainable for novel CDR technologies.
3. Delivering Access and Scale
By adopting a diversified portfolio approach rather than a single-project investment, 3Degrees aggregated demand to optimize pricing. This allowed PayPal to access smaller volumes of high-durable removals on competitive terms and adjust offtake timelines to match their internal 2040 strategy.
Results
Through this partnership, PayPal successfully entered the CDR market, achieving:
Support of an emerging, high-integrity market that enables the creation of new CDR projects, bolstering additionality claims.
A diversified impact through investments in priority CDR projects, like biochar and BECCs.
Increased confidence in abating its residual emissions on route to its 2040 net zero goal.
As we work toward our 2040 net-zero target, investing in high-durability carbon removals was a vital step for PayPal. 3Degrees helped us navigate the carbon market as a trusted extension of our team—de-risking the process with deep technical expertise, allowing us to confidently invest in high-integrity, diversified carbon removals that fit both our budget and our climate ambitions.”
