Clever Carbon
Clever Carbon is a London-based, founder-led carbon footprint education company that built a 2-minute carbon footprint quiz and offers corporate workshops, white-label quiz partnerships, and free educational resources (Coffee Menu, CO2 tracker, Clever Actions workplace program) to individuals, enterprises, and sustainability-focused brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Clever Carbon does
Clever Carbon is a founder-led, London-based carbon footprint education company that was established in 2020. Its core product is a free 2-minute Carbon Footprint Quiz built around a deterministic weighted-average formula that combines country averages sourced from the Global Carbon Atlas with individual inputs on flight hours, commuting habits, diet, and home energy sources. Around the quiz, Clever Carbon has assembled a portfolio of educational and engagement tools including a CO2 PPM tracker with a year-by-year historical lookup (1900-2024), a "Clever Terms" glossary, a Carbon Labelling Guide for brands, downloadable Coffee Menu carbon footprint labels in 20+ languages, a Grade 6+ lesson plan for teachers, and a gamified Clever Actions workplace program offering 100+ UN-SDG-tagged sustainability actions. Sub-brands include Clever Actions, the Carbon Newbie Summit held during SF and NYC Climate Week, The Coffee Menu, and Clever Terms.
Clever Carbon monetizes primarily through bespoke corporate workshops (Carbon Footprint 101 and Ocean & Climate 101) delivered virtually or in-person by founder Michelle Li for enterprise clients, plus speaking engagements at conferences and corporate events. The company also operates a white-label Quiz Partner Program that lets brands (NBA Green, Mubadala, DocuSign, Modibodi, Just Salad, TENZING, Pantys, Equitable, Semi, Thallo) embed branded quiz badges on their own websites, and accepts donations to cover web hosting, design, and conference attendance costs. Go-to-market blends enterprise direct sales via website inquiry forms, founder-led event marketing (SXSW 2022/2023/2025, COP27, COP28, TEDx, Bloomberg), and a product-led-growth funnel through the free quiz.
The company serves both individual consumers through free digital tools and enterprise clients through workshops, with named enterprise customers spanning technology (DocuSign, Okta, Workday), luxury (Dior/LVMH), cosmetics (Estee Lauder), sports (NBA), legal (Paul Hastings), professional services (EY Canada), consulting (ZS), food (Just Salad), and beverages (TENZING). Strategic partnerships with the United Nations (content contributor), Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (Ocean Innovator's Platform moderator), Mastercard, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, and Oceanic Global provide institutional legitimacy and visibility. The company operates with effectively one founder (Michelle Li) supported by volunteers, indicating a bootstrapped, content- and personal-brand-driven operating model.
Clever Carbon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clever Carbon
- Website
- https://clevercarbon.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Clever Carbon is a London-based, founder-led carbon footprint education company that built a 2-minute carbon footprint quiz and offers corporate workshops, white-label quiz partnerships, and free educational resources (Coffee Menu, CO2 tracker, Clever Actions workplace program) to individuals, enterprises, and sustainability-focused brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Clever Carbon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Clever Carbon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Corporate Workshops: Clever Carbon generates revenue through fee-for-service corporate workshops on carbon footprint literacy and ocean/climate education. The company conducts virtual and in-person 1-hour interactive sessions for enterprise clients including Fortune 500 companies. Workshops are delivered by founder Michelle Li and can be customized to client needs.
- Speaking Engagements: Revenue from keynote speeches and panel appearances at conferences, corporate events, retreats, and kick-offs. Michelle Li speaks at events ranging from short addresses to longer talks.
- Donations: Accepts monetary donations from supporters to help cover operational expenses including web hosting, designer and developer costs, and conference attendance to scale the mission.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free resources for individuals and organizations |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Corporate workshop pricing not publicly listed |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels11 records
Clever Carbon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clever Carbon delivers carbon literacy education through a 2-minute interactive Carbon Footprint Quiz and a suite of digital tools (Coffee Menu PDFs, CO2 PPM tracker, Clever Actions workplace program) made freely available on clevercarbon.io. Its revenue-generating offerings are fee-for-service corporate workshops (Carbon Footprint 101 and Ocean & Climate 101), keynote speaking engagements, white-labeled branded quiz deployments for partner brands, and structured brand-side guidance via the Carbon Labelling Guide.
Product overview
Clever Carbon is a carbon footprint education company offering a portfolio of digital tools and programs centered on a core 2-minute Carbon Footprint Quiz. The quiz serves as the anchor product, powering co-branded white-label quiz partnerships with major brands (NBA, DocuSign, Modibodi, Pantys, Mubadala, Equitable, Semi, Thallo) and feeding into most other products. The portfolio spans educational reference tools (Carbon Footprints of Common Items, CO2 PPM Tracker, Carbon Footprint by Country, Energy Literacy, Clever Terms), downloadable resources (The Coffee Menu in 22+ languages, Carbon Footprint Lesson Plan for Teachers), a gamified corporate engagement program (Clever Actions with 100+ actions tagged to UN SDGs), and professional services (Carbon Footprint Corporate Workshops, Carbon Labelling Guide, Ocean Initiatives including SXSW panels and the Ocean Corporate Workshop). The company also facilitates the Carbon Newbie Summit during SF and NYC Climate Week. All core offerings point to clevercarbon.io.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Clever Actions: A free sustainability workplace program with over 100 actions that organizations can use to engage team members and help the planet.
- Carbon Newbie Summit
- The Coffee Menu
- Clever Terms
Products and services
- Carbon Footprint Quiz A free 2-minute interactive web quiz that calculates an individual's personalized carbon footprint by applying weighted multipliers to country average data (from Global Carbon Atlas), flight hours, commute method, diet type, and home energy source. Designed for individual consumers and widely offered in a white-label form to enterprise partners for embedded employee and customer engagement.
- Carbon Footprint Corporate Workshops Fee-for-service virtual or in-person 1-hour interactive workshops (Carbon Footprint 101 and Ocean & Climate 101) delivered by founder Michelle Li to enterprise clients. Sessions cover carbon footprint concepts, life cycle assessments, carbon labels, and ocean-climate connections, and can be customized for client needs. Past clients include Dior (LVMH), DocuSign, Estee Lauder, NBA, Okta, Paul Hastings, Workday, EY Canada, and ZS.
- The Coffee Menu Free downloadable PDF menu showing the carbon footprint (in grams of CO2) of common coffee and tea beverages such as plain coffee (~50g), dairy latte (~350g), plant-based latte (~140g), and tea (~40g). Intended to be printed and displayed in workplaces and coffee shops to educate consumers on beverage carbon impact. Distributed in 20+ languages.
- Clever Actions Free workplace sustainability program offering 100+ tagged sustainability actions that employees can complete to earn points, with a gamified leaderboard, downloadable resources, team-building session support, and UN Sustainable Development Goal tagging. Designed for organizations looking to drive structured employee engagement around sustainability.
- Carbon Newbie Summit Climate education event held during San Francisco and New York Climate Week, designed for newcomers to the climate and carbon conversation. Features ocean-focused presentations and participation by marine and maritime leadership organizations such as the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, and is Blue Standard verified by Oceanic Global.
- Clever Carbon Quiz Partner Program White-label or co-branded quiz arrangement enabling partner brands (NBA Green, DocuSign, Modibodi, Mubadala, Pantys, Just Salad, TENZING, Equitable, Semi, Thallo, Carbon Newbie Summit) to embed a custom-branded version of the Clever Carbon footprint quiz on their own websites to drive employee and customer carbon literacy while maintaining brand consistency.
- Carbon Labelling Guide A step-by-step free guide that helps businesses understand the process, costs, and benefits of carbon labelling. Walks through a 5-step process from internal team creation through manufacturing and marketing, and provides a non-exhaustive list of carbon labelling consultants.
- Carbon Footprint Lesson Plan for Teachers A free approximately 50-minute lesson plan for Grade 6+ students, delivered via Google Slides and built around the 2-minute Carbon Footprint Quiz. Covers what a carbon footprint is, where carbon emissions appear in daily life, and how to make "clever carbon decisions."
Quantifiable outcome
- Quiz completion in 2 minutes with immediate personalized carbon footprint results
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Clever Carbon
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Clever Carbon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Clever Carbon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
30 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- NBA GreenflagshipOfficial partner of NBA Green focused on raising carbon literacy through employee engagement, fan engagement, and branded quiz integration on nba.com/carbon. Includes press release and official partnership announcement.
- MubadalacoreBrand partner with custom quiz embedded on clevercarbon.io/quiz/mubadala. Michelle Li delivered keynote at Mubadala's Youth Council at COP28 on 'What Gets Measured Gets Changed: A story on carbon literacy and individual action'.
- DocuSigncoreBrand partner with custom quiz integration. DocuSign employees and customers can take the branded quiz through clevercarbon.io/quiz?ref=docusign.
- ModibodicoreBrand partner with custom quiz accessible through us.modibodi.com/pages/carbon-footprint-quiz/. Sustainability-focused apparel brand.
- Just SaladcoreBrand partner. Just Salad's Chief Sustainability Officer Sandra Noonan co-spoke with Michelle Li at SXSW 2022 on Carbon Footprint and the Future of Consumer Brands.
- TENZINGcoreBrand partner. TENZING's Emily Gander contributed to the Carbon Labelling Guide and participated in corporate workshop. Natural energy drink brand focused on carbon labeling.
- PantyscoreBrand partner with custom quiz at pantys.com.br. Featured in Carbon Labels overview with example carbon label. Brazilian sustainable underwear brand.
- EquitableminorBrand partner with custom quiz accessible through clevercarbon.io/quiz/equitable. Financial services company.
- SemiminorBrand partner with custom quiz accessible through semi.org sustainability quiz. Semiconductor industry organization.
- ThallominorBrand partner with personal carbon calculator integration at thallo.io. Carbon removal services company.
- Carbon Newbie SummitcoreEvent partner for Carbon Newbie Summit held during SF and NYC Climate Week. Custom quiz branding for summit participants.
- Ocean Innovator's Platform (Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation)flagshipCollaboration with prestigious ocean initiative. Michelle Li serves as moderator for keynote addresses and expert-led panel discussions exploring ocean solutions and blue economy investment opportunities.
- Blue Standard (Oceanic Global)coreClever Carbon proudly champions and engages with Blue Standard framework. All Carbon Newbie Summit events are Blue Standard verified. Michelle Li serves as advisor to The Blue Standard.
- Sustainable Ocean AllianceminorFeatured at Carbon Newbie Summit to help newcomers understand the ocean's vital role in climate. Marine and maritime leadership organization.
- United NationsflagshipMichelle Li is a UN content contributor. Hosted panel at COP28 Tech & Innovation Hub with UN speakers Martina Donlon and David Eichberg from Mastercard. Participated in COP27 podcast and UNOC3 in Nice, France.
- MastercardflagshipCo-speaker David Eichberg from Mastercard at COP28 Tech & Innovation Hub panel on Carbon Literacy alongside Michelle Li and UN representatives.
- ZScoreConsulting firm that participated in Clever Carbon's Ocean Workshop. Team across the Americas engaged in informative session on ocean's role in climate change.
- EY CanadacoreProfessional services firm that participated in Clever Carbon workshop as part of sustainable eating campaign. Led by Ana Carija.
- WeWorkminorFeatured in WeWork community stories and member spotlight article. Michelle conducted team building session at WeWork Labs.
- ElementorminorWebsite platform featured Clever Carbon content through Instagram collaboration.
- The Carbon AlmanacminorFeatured partner organization in the climate education space.
- SiteGroundminorWeb hosting provider that featured Clever Carbon content on their blog about creating a carbon literate society.
- Goals HouseflagshipClimate event organizer where Michelle Li participated in side events at COP28. Tola St. Matthew-Daniels from Goals House co-spoke at Carbon Literacy panel.
- AetherminorSustainable brand partner mentioned in UN SDGs section. Carbon labeling focused company.
- GreenpixieminorSustainability partner mentioned in UN SDGs section.
- CarboniiminorApp partner mentioned in UN SDGs section for carbon tracking.
- ClueyminorConsumer product partner mentioned in UN SDGs section.
- Kind CommunityminorCommunity partner mentioned in UN SDGs section.
- juneeminorBrand partner mentioned in UN SDGs section.
- W2RminorSustainability partner mentioned in UN SDGs section (w2rsolutions.com).
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Clever Carbon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Carbon Literacy Project: A UK-based charity offering carbon literacy training and certification to organizations, schools, and individuals — directly comparable to Clever Carbon's corporate carbon literacy workshops and UK base.
- Joro: A consumer-facing personal carbon footprint tracking app that helps individuals understand and reduce their climate impact — directly comparable to Clever Carbon's quiz-first consumer footprint product.
- HowGood: Provides product-level carbon labeling and sustainability data for consumer brands, including partnerships with sustainability-focused brands such as Oatly — directly comparable to Clever Carbon's Carbon Labelling Guide and brand partner roster.
- Cloverly: A carbon credits API that lets businesses integrate offsetting and carbon awareness into customer experiences — directly comparable to Clever Carbon's white-label partner quiz integrations on enterprise and DTC sites.
Emerging players
- Patch: Carbon credits API platform that enables businesses to embed offsetting into apps and customer touchpoints — partially comparable to Clever Carbon's approach of integrating carbon awareness into brand-owned channels.
- Greenly: Carbon accounting and emissions tracking platform for SMBs and enterprises with built-in employee engagement features — partially comparable to Clever Carbon's Clever Actions workplace sustainability program.
- Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and climate disclosure platform used by Fortune 500 companies — partially comparable in customer profile (Fortune 500) and footprint measurement, though at far larger scale and scope.
- Persefoni: Enterprise carbon management and accounting SaaS — partially comparable to Clever Carbon's footprint calculation methodology and corporate audience, though addressing disclosure rather than literacy.
Broad incumbents
- Cool Effect: A nonprofit carbon offset marketplace with consumer-facing educational content — broadly comparable to Clever Carbon's mission of consumer carbon education and individual climate engagement.
- South Pole Group: Global climate solutions provider and carbon project developer serving enterprises with advisory, offsets, and disclosure services — broadly comparable to Clever Carbon's corporate carbon advisory work via workshops and labelling guidance.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clever Carbon social profiles
Digital presenceClever Carbon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clever Carbon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Clever Carbon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clever Carbon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Clever Carbon
What does Clever Carbon do?
Clever Carbon delivers carbon literacy education through a 2-minute interactive Carbon Footprint Quiz and a suite of digital tools (Coffee Menu PDFs, CO2 PPM tracker, Clever Actions workplace program) made freely available on clevercarbon.io. Its revenue-generating offerings are fee-for-service corporate workshops (Carbon Footprint 101 and Ocean & Climate 101), keynote speaking engagements, white-labeled branded quiz deployments for partner brands, and structured brand-side guidance via the Carbon Labelling Guide.
Is Clever Carbon a public or private company?
Clever Carbon is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clever Carbon founded?
Clever Carbon was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Clever Carbon based?
Clever Carbon is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Clever Carbon make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Corporate Workshops are the primary driver. The others are speaking Engagements and donations.
Who are Clever Carbon's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Carbon Literacy Project, Joro, HowGood and Cloverly. Emerging players are Patch, Greenly, Watershed and Persefoni. Broad incumbents are Cool Effect and South Pole Group.
Does Clever Carbon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clever Carbon.