CARBON PROCUREMENT
- INDUSTRY
- Investment
- SERVICES USED
- Strategy advisory
- Carbon credit sourcing
- Carbon credit evaluation
- Carbon credit purchasing
Goal
To procure high-integrity carbon credits from 2025 to 2032 to address the residual financed emissions of A.P. Moller Capital's EMIF II Fund, aligned with rigorous internal ESG standards and regional focus areas. The portfolio was to comprise carbon removal credits that delivered measurable community and biodiversity co-benefits, leveraging a combination of transaction structures from spot and forward purchase, to investments in select projects, in order to optimise costs.
Background
A.P. Moller Capital, the institutional infrastructure fund manager, invests capital in critical infrastructure to deliver strong financial performance and long-term impact. As a values-driven firm with strong ESG principles, its goal is to achieve net-zero financed emissions across the life of its new Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II (EMIF II or the Fund).
Recognising that the full decarbonisation of the Fund’s portfolio companies would take time, A.P. Moller Capital sought to complement ongoing emissions reductions with the purchase of high-quality carbon credits, targeting impactful projects that were regionally aligned with the Fund’s geographies (Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia). The aim was to support a scalable, transparent procurement process that reflected A.P. Moller Capital’s commitment to its investors.
Solution
A.P. Moller Capital partnered with Abatable to execute a tailored, multi-year carbon procurement strategy. This bespoke procurement approach enabled:
- Transparent access to the largest network of high-quality carbon projects
- Tailored carbon project selection using custom parameters that aligned with A.P. Moller Capital’s values and objectives
- Competitive market pricing without reliance on intermediaries
- Rapid credit purchases through standardised legal contracts
Abatable ran two Request for Proposal (RfP) carbon credit procurement exercises for A.P. Moller Capital: one focused on spot and forward credits and the other on future offtakes. Under these RfPs, Abatable identified and invited 118 carbon project developers to participate in its competitive tendering processes. Of those project developers:
- 51 participated, submitting 128 projects for consideration
- In total 31 million tonnes of CO2 were offered
- 58 projects passed Abatable’s quality threshold, providing 3.4mn tonnes of eligible credits to choose from
- Four projects then underwent stringent due diligence, including site visits, and were then selected for inclusion in the portfolio
Abatable's deep expertise and wide market access were instrumental in executing one of the industry's first net-zero strategies for an investment fund. Abatable helped facilitate a transparent and competitive process that optimised our procurement of multi-year offtakes, and we continue to benefit from the continued support and guidance of the expert Abatable team.
Patrick Bird
Director of Investments, A.P. Moller Capital
Partnering with Abatable
Abatable managed the entire carbon credit sourcing, assessment and contracting process for A.P. Moller Capital, enabling it to:
- Navigate the carbon market confidently and efficiently
- Access a significantly oversubscribed set of offers — 30x more than required
- Decide which offers best matched its needs using Abatable’s selection and due diligence process
- Maintain full transparency on carbon credit costs, risks and impacts
- Secure and contract credits seamlessly using standardised legal documentation
Impact
The projects A.P. Moller Capital supported have created 400 jobs through community-based afforestation, reforestation and revegetation climate solutions in Africa and South Asia.
These critical projects not only remove CO2 from the atmosphere but also deliver essential outcomes in livelihoods, biodiversity and climate resilience-building across emerging economies.
Results
- Target achieved: One million tonnes of relevant, high-quality credits procured
- Cost savings through direct procurement, standardised contracts and multi-bid competition on key projects leading to 12–30% savings
- Options secured for future credit purchases – enabling flexibility as the fund decarbonises over time
- Outcome fully aligned with A.P. Moller Capital’s climate, financial, and impact objectives
- A proof of concept for a replicable, efficient model of providing climate finance within the investment sector