TerraCarbon
TerraCarbon is a US-based advisory firm founded in 2006 that provides fee-for-service consulting for carbon offset project development across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. It serves conservation NGOs, government agencies, corporates, and communities with methodology development, project design, validation, and monitoring support.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersPeoria, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What TerraCarbon does
TerraCarbon LLC is a US-based advisory firm founded in 2006 that provides fee-for-service consulting for the development, validation, and monitoring of carbon offset projects based on natural climate solutions (forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands). The firm serves mission-aligned clients including leading conservation NGOs (The Nature Conservancy, American Forest Foundation, Carbon Tanzania, Conservation International, WWF, Mercy Corps), government agencies (Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, World Bank BioCarbon Fund, Restore America's Estuaries), corporates (Indigo Ag, CIBO, EcoPlanet Bamboo, BTG Pactual), and academic institutions, delivering end-to-end support from feasibility assessment through project registration and ongoing MRV. The firm's core technology centers on carbon accounting methodology authorship and applied geospatial science: it has co-authored 13+ methodologies and tools shaping the voluntary carbon market, including VM0042 (Improved Agricultural Land Management), VM0045 (dynamic Improved Forest Management), VM0047 (ARR), a first-of-its-kind Pocosin Wetlands methodology, and a novel biodiversity impact measurement framework for REDD projects, supported by remote sensing, dynamic global monitoring systems, soil carbon MRV, and forest inventory design capabilities.
TerraCarbon monetizes exclusively through professional services fees — explicitly declining to take equity or credit ownership in the projects it advises — and distributes services via direct enterprise consulting engagements. The firm is co-led by Managing Director Scott Settelmyer (former Chicago Climate Exchange CFO, 15+ years in carbon markets) and Director/CTO David Shoch (Master of Forestry from Duke, 20+ years of NCS expertise, formerly TNC and Winrock), supported by ~18 named specialists across geospatial analysis, agricultural lands, blue carbon, forestry, and operations functions with credentials from Clark, Yale, Duke, Ohio State, and other research institutions. The company holds B Corp certification (since 2012), is recognized as a Verra Activity Data Provider (alongside Clark University), and has earned consecutive Best for the World B Corp (Environment) recognition. Operations span two US offices (Peoria, IL headquarters and Charlottesville, VA) with project footprints across North America, East Africa (Tanzania), South America (Ecuador), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines), Oceania (Papua New Guinea), and West Africa (The Gambia, Guinea), and cumulative outcomes of 40-48 supported projects covering ~5 million acres and 50-55 million tCO2e of verified emissions reductions.
TerraCarbon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- TerraCarbon
- Legal name
- TerraCarbon LLC
- Website
- https://terracarbon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- TerraCarbon is a US-based advisory firm founded in 2006 that provides fee-for-service consulting for carbon offset project development across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. It serves conservation NGOs, government agencies, corporates, and communities with methodology development, project design, validation, and monitoring support.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
TerraCarbon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Carbon Advisory and Environmental Consulting
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Carbon Accounting, Verification & Registry Services (MRV, Audits, Certification) (IMAMAJAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE), Soil & Biomass Carbon Measurement (Soil Sampling, Forest Inventory, Blue Carbon) (EUABACAH), GHG Monitoring Plans & Sampling Design (Field Protocols, QA/QC) (EUABACAE), Carbon Market & Policy Advisory (Compliance Schemes, ETS Design, Article 6) (EUABADAA)
Keywords
Where TerraCarbon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Peoria
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
TerraCarbon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: TerraCarbon operates under a traditional fee-for-service consulting model. They provide advisory services for carbon offset project development from early inception stage through project registration and ongoing monitoring. The company explicitly does not take equity ownership or credit ownership in the projects they advise, positioning them as independent advisors focused on rigorous GHG accounting and market integrity.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
TerraCarbon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
TerraCarbon is an advisory firm that provides consulting services to support the development of carbon offset projects that fund natural climate solutions across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. The firm offers end-to-end services from project feasibility assessment and methodology development through project design, validation, registration, and ongoing monitoring and verification. It operates on a fee-for-service basis without taking equity or credit ownership in the projects it advises.
Product overview
TerraCarbon is a leading advisory firm offering a comprehensive suite of consulting services for developing carbon offset projects that fund natural climate solutions. The company provides end-to-end support from project feasibility through registration and ongoing monitoring, including Project Feasibility Assessment, Project Design and Validation Support, Project Monitoring and Verification Support, Methodology Development, and Research and Analysis. TerraCarbon has developed specialized methodologies for Improved Agricultural Land Management (VM0042), Afforestation/Reforestation/Revegetation (ARR), and Improved Forest Management (VM0045), and supports specific project types including Pocosin Wetland Restoration, REDD+ Projects in Tanzania, Blue Carbon/Tidal Marsh Restoration, and the Family Forest Carbon Program. The company also co-developed the Blue Carbon Cost Tool (BCCT) for investment prioritization. TerraCarbon operates under a fee-for-service consulting model without taking equity or credit ownership in projects.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Carbon Offset Project Advisory Services
- Pocosin Wetland Restoration Project
- REDD+ Projects (Makame Savannah and Ntakata Mountains)
- Blue Carbon and Tidal Marsh Restoration Services
- VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management Methodology
- Family Forest Carbon Program (FFCP)
- Blue Carbon Cost Tool (BCCT)
- VM0047 ARR Methodology
Quantifiable outcome
- 5 million+ acres of land restored, managed, or protected; 50+ million tons CO2e reduced across 40+ projects globally
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use TerraCarbon
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
TerraCarbon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
TerraCarbon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.
- Blue Catalyst FundsecondaryTerraCarbon participates as an advisory partner in the Blue Catalyst Fund, a new accelerator jointly managed by Fair Carbon and Finance Earth supporting mangrove restoration projects in The Gambia and Guinea. The fund addresses early-stage financing gaps in blue carbon.
- UC Santa Cruz Center for Coastal Climate ResiliencecoreCo-development partner for Coastal Resilience Asset Methodology (approved by Verra SD VISta) quantifying flood protection value of mangroves and tidal marshes. TerraCarbon is one of multiple partners including IH Cantabria and East Carolina University working with The Nature Conservancy.
- The Nature ConservancycoreLong-standing strategic partner for methodology development and project implementation. Collaborations include pocosin wetland restoration methodology, improved forest management methodologies (VM0045), Family Forest Carbon Program, scientific research (natural climate solutions studies in PNAS and Science Advances), and blue carbon initiatives including the Coastal Resilience Asset Methodology. Multiple joint publications and award recognition.
- American Forest FoundationcoreJoint development of VM0045 dynamic Improved Forest Management methodology for the Family Forest Carbon Program, enabling family forest owners (30-2,000 acres) to participate in carbon markets. TerraCarbon continues to support AFF with documentation, monitoring, and verification for the grouped VCS project.
- Carbon TanzaniacoreSocial enterprise partner for community-based forest conservation in Tanzania. TerraCarbon designed and prepared documentation for Makame Savannah (100,000+ hectares) and Ntakata Mountains (200,000+ hectares) REDD projects registered with VCS and CCB. Ongoing support includes annual monitoring reports and additional credit issuance.
- Indigo AgcorePartnership to develop VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management methodology quantifying soil carbon outcomes from regenerative agriculture practices. Methodology subsequently modified by Climate Action Reserve as Soil Enrichment Protocol.
- CIBO TechnologiessecondaryImplementation partner working with TerraCarbon to implement VM0042 methodology for generating agricultural carbon credits for farmers in the U.S. and abroad.
- SilvestrumsecondaryDevelopment partner for ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation) methodology VM0047 with dynamic baseline approach, simplified census-based approach for small projects, and new leakage accounting methods.
- Clark UniversitysecondarySelected together as Verra Activity Data Providers, collecting jurisdictional deforestation data for allocation to VCS projects. Clark University is the only academic institution on the roster, providing remote sensing and geographic information science expertise.
- VerracoreLong-standing partnership for methodology development and project registration. TerraCarbon has co-authored 13+ methodologies and tools with Verra, serves as Activity Data Provider, and Managing Director Scott Settelmyer serves on the SD VISta Nature Framework Advisory Group.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
TerraCarbon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Winrock International: Global nonprofit implementing forestry, climate, and community development projects with carbon components. Comparable to TerraCarbon in nature-based project development but at much larger scale and with implementation (not just advisory) capabilities.
- Climate Action Reserve: Major U.S. voluntary carbon registry that adopted TerraCarbon-style work (e.g., its Soil Enrichment Protocol was derived from VM0042). Both a partner and a competitive incumbent for project registration and methodology approval.
- Verra: Operator of the Verified Carbon Standard and SD VISta — the registry within which most TerraCarbon methodologies sit. Both a critical partner and a structural incumbent whose standards decisions shape TerraCarbon's addressable market.
Emerging players
- CIBO Technologies: Ag-tech platform for regenerative agriculture carbon programs and MRV. An implementation partner of TerraCarbon on VM0042 and a direct competitor for agricultural carbon project delivery to farmers.
- Sylvera: Carbon credit ratings and analytics platform that uses satellite data and ML to assess project quality. Adjacent to TerraCarbon's geospatial/MRV capabilities but positioned on the buy-side ratings rather than the project-development side.
- Pachama: Tech-enabled carbon marketplace leveraging satellite monitoring and ML to connect buyers to nature-based projects. Overlaps with TerraCarbon's geospatial/MRV capabilities and competes for the same nature-based buyer demand.
- Indigo Ag (Carbon/Indigo Verified): Strategic co-development partner of TerraCarbon on VM0042 and one of the largest commercial operators of agricultural carbon programs in the U.S. — both a partner and a competitive channel to farmers seeking carbon revenue.
Direct peers
- 3Degrees: Climate advisory and carbon project developer providing renewable energy and nature-based carbon solutions to corporate buyers. Comparable consulting-driven project development model with similar buyer relationships.
- South Pole Group: Large global carbon advisory and project developer that designs, develops, and manages nature-based and tech-based carbon projects for corporate and government buyers. Closest direct competitor to TerraCarbon's fee-for-service advisory model across forestry, agriculture, and blue carbon.
- Carbon Growth Partners: Independent carbon advisory firm supporting NCS project development, methodology design, and verification. Highly comparable to TerraCarbon as a boutique consultancy operating across forestry and land-use carbon projects.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
TerraCarbon social profiles
Digital presenceTerraCarbon compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
TerraCarbon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
TerraCarbon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
TerraCarbon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
TerraCarbon 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 TerraCarbon
What does TerraCarbon do?
TerraCarbon is an advisory firm that provides consulting services to support the development of carbon offset projects that fund natural climate solutions across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands. The firm offers end-to-end services from project feasibility assessment and methodology development through project design, validation, registration, and ongoing monitoring and verification. It operates on a fee-for-service basis without taking equity or credit ownership in the projects it advises.
Is TerraCarbon a public or private company?
TerraCarbon is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was TerraCarbon founded?
TerraCarbon was founded in 2006. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is TerraCarbon based?
TerraCarbon is headquartered in Peoria, United States, in the North America region.
How does TerraCarbon make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are TerraCarbon's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Winrock International, Climate Action Reserve and Verra. Emerging players are CIBO Technologies, Sylvera, Pachama and Indigo Ag (Carbon/Indigo Verified). Direct peers are 3Degrees, South Pole Group and Carbon Growth Partners.
Does TerraCarbon have an API?
No public API is recorded for TerraCarbon.
What industry is TerraCarbon in?
TerraCarbon's product category is Carbon Advisory and Environmental Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAMAJAE, Carbon Accounting, Verification & Registry Services (MRV, Audits, Certification), with a secondary code of EUABABAE, Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC). Its NAICS code is 54162 and its SIC code is 8731.