Fair Climate Network

What Fair Climate Network does

Fair Climate Network (FCN), founded in 2007, is an India-based non-profit network that facilitates pro-poor Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Gold Standard climate mitigation projects by handholding grassroots NGOs through the full lifecycle of project registration, implementation, and monitoring. It operates as a multilateral platform of 120+ individuals spanning 28 grassroots NGOs, 16 support organisations, and 13 individual members; ADATS Bagepalli serves as the Secretariat, and the operational Tech Team is housed under the legal holding company Fair Climate Services Pvt Ltd (CIN: U93000KA2011PTC058189, incorporated April 2011). FCN's core technology portfolio comprises five climate solutions: 2 cubic meter Deenabandu domestic biogas digesters (generating 2.7-3.5 tCO2-e/unit/year), Chulika fuel-efficient woodstoves (>50% firewood reduction), Afforestation/Reforestation/Farm Forestry on rain-fed semi-arid lands, Low Carbon Farming (a proprietary methodology co-developed with EDF), and emerging Solar Lamps and Safe Drinking Water Systems. Monitoring relies on digitized solutions (Tristle) and the Polygon Recorder for GPS and demographic data capture across tens of thousands of scattered rural locations, with carbon credits issued into the UNFCCC and Gold Standard registries.

Name

Fair Climate Network

Legal name

Fair Climate Services Pvt. Ltd.

Website

https://fairclimate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fair Climate Network is an India-based non-profit platform that enables rural women and smallholder farmers to generate verified carbon credits through biogas, cookstoves, agroforestry, and low-carbon farming, then aggregates and sells those credits to corporate buyers at actual-cost-of-generation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Credit Project Facilitation

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Mitigation Programs (Energy, Industry, Transport) (BPADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Markets & Climate Finance (Offsets, Allowances, Carbon Funds) (FSAAALAH), Climate Finance Strategy (CapEx planning, green finance, incentives & grants) (EUABAKAG), Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

Keywords

• Carbon credit facilitation
• CDM project development
• Voluntary carbon offsets
• Grassroots climate projects
• Pro-poor climate finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bagepalli

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Carbon Credit Trading (CERs and VERs): FCN facilitates the sale of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) generated by rural women through the use of clean technologies (biogas, woodstoves, farm forestry). Carbon credits are forward-purchased by corporate partners under ERPA agreements at actual-cost-of-generation prices. CERs are issued into the UNFCCC/ Gold Standard registries and retired by corporates. Over the past 20 years, FCN has mobilised ₹ 1.65 billion against 1.77 million issued CERs/VERs.
2. Corporate Climate Responsibility (CSR) Contributions: Indian and foreign corporations purchase carbon offsets and make CSR contributions to fund climate projects. Examples include IndiGo passenger contributions (₹20.55 crore received 2014-18), German Churches compensation, BP Netherlands contributions, and NUMERCO/Climate Partner/EcoAct purchases. FCN acts as aggregator of both GHG reductions and the stories behind their generation.
3. Tech Team Consultancy Services: The Tech Team (operated under Fair Climate Services Pvt Ltd) charges consultancy fees for assisting grassroots NGOs through three phases: Phase I - exploring climate projects (₹ 2,40,000 per NGO); Phase II - developing and registering PDDs (₹ 11,10,000 per PDD); Phase III - assisting with implementation and monitoring (₹ 4,80,000). After initial grant support from IcCCO ended in mid-2012, the Tech Team now operates as a financially viable social business on an 'at cost' basis.
4. Forward Purchase of Yet-to-be-Generated Carbon Credits: Carbon Investors (e.g., Velcan Energy, FairClimateFund, Integra) purchase yet-to-be-generated CERs/VERs in advance at the actual-price-of-generation. This provides upfront capital to construct biogas units and install woodstoves. Rural women receive construction costs, repair, maintenance and monitoring costs in advance, enabling them to become mini entrepreneurs providing environmental services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fair Climate Network is a non-profit platform of grassroots NGOs that develops and registers pro-poor Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Gold Standard climate mitigation projects in India. It facilitates the construction of domestic biogas digesters, fuel-efficient woodstoves, farm forestry, low carbon farming, solar lamps and drinking water systems with rural women and small farmers, then aggregates the resulting carbon credits (CERs/VERs) and sells them forward to corporate buyers under Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements. The FCN Tech Team, operating under Fair Climate Services Pvt Ltd, also charges tiered consultancy fees to NGO members across project exploration, registration and implementation phases.

Product overview

The Fair Climate Network operates a platform of climate mitigation projects managed by grassroots NGOs, offering five core technology products: Domestic Biogas digesters, Fuel Efficient Wood Stoves, Afforestation/Reforestation (Farm Forestry), Low Carbon Farming, Solar Lamps, and Drinking Water Systems. The network provides three-phase Tech Team Services to assist NGOs through project preparation, registration, and implementation. Carbon offset aggregation and marketing services connect rural women generating carbon credits with corporate investors under forward purchase agreements. The Tech Team operates under Fair Climate Services Pvt Ltd, the legal holding company, with offices in Bangalore and Bagepalli.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Domestic Biogas CDM Projects Climate mitigation projects constructing 2 cubic meter Deenabandu domestic biogas digesters that replace non-renewable biomass for cooking and water heating among rural women households. Each unit generates 2.7 to 3.5 tCO2-e per year over a 21-year crediting period; carbon revenues (~97%) are distributed to End User women. Customers are grassroots NGOs implementing the projects on behalf of rural women.
• Fuel Efficient Wood Stoves (Chulika)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20 years: ₹ 1.65 billion mobilized, 1,773,193 CERs/VERs issued, ₹ 6.99 crore+ distributed to End User women and farmers
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SayTrees (Bangalore)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020SayTrees, a Bangalore-based NGO leveraging CSR funds to create urban and rural forests, contributed to Bagepalli Farm Forestry: supplied 47,119 high quality fruit tree saplings in June 2020, 1,04,976 saplings in June 2021 (for planting and replacement), and 52,598 two-year old saplings in 2022.
• TNO (Netherlands)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015TNO, a scientific research institute from the Netherlands, assisted with an experiment to place Rockwool slabs under saplings at Bagepalli Farm Forestry to retain hand-poured water for a few extra days. TNO also conducted a carbon potential scan and assisted ADATS with recommendations to improve biogas digester construction techniques.
• Environment Defense Fund (EDF), New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2009EDF (New York) entered a long-term collaboration with FCN in July 2009 to develop Low Carbon Farming (sustainable agriculture incentivized with carbon revenues). EDF provides cutting-edge science to measure and verify SA adoption. In March 2010, 5 grassroots NGOs formed the 1st FCN-LCF Coalition under this collaboration. EDF helped develop a brand new LCF Methodology for smallholder farming contexts.
• Tristle Technologies Pvt. Ltd.coreTechnology or IntegrationTristle Technologies Pvt. Ltd. provides the digitized monitoring solution and Polygon Recorder used by FCN projects. The monitoring solution is customized for each technology and methodology. Negotiated by Project Proponents, Tristle creates customized monitoring solutions that meet DoE and Carbon Investor standards for tracking usage, repairs, and emission reductions across thousands of locations.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EcoAct: EcoAct is a France-based carbon consultancy that both advises corporates on decarbonization strategies and purchases/provides high-integrity carbon offsets (including from FCN's Bagepalli Farm Forestry for ₹1.88 crore). Directly comparable in bridging carbon project development with corporate climate strategy.
• MyClimate: MyClimate is a Swiss non-profit that funds climate protection projects globally, including cookstove, biogas, and forestry initiatives with measurable social co-benefits. Comparable to FCN in mission orientation, project types (biogas/forestry), and nonprofit corporate partnership model.
• Sistema.bio: Sistema.bio is a Mexico-headquartered social enterprise that manufactures and distributes small-scale biogas digesters to smallholder farmers across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Directly comparable to FCN's domestic biogas offering in technology focus, end-user profile, and use of carbon finance to subsidize clean technology deployment.
• South Pole Group: South Pole is a major carbon project developer and offset provider that finances, develops, and aggregates emission reduction projects across energy, forestry, and community-based initiatives globally. Like FCN, it develops high-integrity voluntary carbon credits and sells to corporate buyers, but operates at much larger scale across multiple continents.
• atmosfair: atmosfair is a German non-profit that develops and sells carbon offsets from renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, with a strong focus on cookstoves and biogas in developing countries. Highly comparable to FCN in pro-poor climate mission, technology focus (biogas/cookstoves), and nonprofit carbon credit model.
• Climate Partner: Climate Partner is a Germany-based carbon offset provider that both purchases VERs from project developers like FCN (₹1.98 crore from Bagepalli Farm Forestry) and operates its own portfolio of climate projects. Directly comparable business model combining carbon credit aggregation with corporate climate strategy services.
• FairClimateFund: FairClimateFund is a Dutch social venture that invests in community-owned climate projects in developing countries including India (FCN partner), Ethiopia, and South Africa. Highly comparable to FCN in funding and developing pro-poor biogas/cookstove/forestry projects with social co-benefits, though FairClimateFund operates as the financing entity while FCN provides the project facilitation layer.

Emerging players

• BURN Manufacturing: BURN Manufacturing is a Kenya-based clean cookstove manufacturer and distributor producing fuel-efficient biomass and solar cookstoves for East African households. Comparable to FCN's fuel-efficient woodstove (Chulika) projects in product category, end-user base, and emerging-market distribution model, though operates as a for-profit hardware business rather than a nonprofit network.
• Trees for the Future: Trees for the Future is a US-based non-profit implementing agroforestry with smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Comparable to FCN's Low Carbon Farming and Farm Forestry offerings in pairing tree planting with sustainable agriculture transition for marginal farmers, with a strong training/extension model parallel to FCN's grassroots NGO network.
• Cool Earth: Cool Earth is a UK-based non-profit that partners with indigenous and rainforest communities on forest conservation and agroforestry, generating carbon credits with strong community ownership. Comparable to FCN's Farm Forestry work in pairing carbon revenue with community-led land stewardship, though focused on tropical rainforest rather than semi-arid India.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fair-climate-network

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fair Climate Network