Commons

What Commons does

Commons, operating as Joro Tech, Inc. (dba Commons), is a consumer climate-fintech company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Oakland, California. The company operates a free iOS and Android app that connects to users' bank accounts via Plaid, automatically categorizes purchases across 180+ spending categories using proprietary carbon-intensity datasets, and computes a personalized carbon footprint that combines lifestyle survey data with local emissions factors for production, transportation, and end-of-life use. The platform layers an expert-vetted brand ratings directory of 400+ sustainable brands, a points-based rewards system (up to $30/month in cash back and up to $60/month to conservation projects), monthly community challenges, and a carbon offset marketplace built on the Commons Offset Portfolio of 8 vetted avoidance and removal projects priced at $35/ton.

Commons monetizes through two channels: affiliate commissions when users purchase from rated brands via Commons links, and a 20% transaction fee on offset purchases — including one-time offsets for flights or gifts and the recurring Climate Stewardship Subscription. The core carbon-tracking and brand-rating experience is free, with monetization layered on top of user activity rather than gated behind a paywall. The company has raised $13.5 million cumulatively from Sequoia Capital, climate-focused investors Amasia and Norrsken, founders of Headspace, Fitbit, Candy Crush, and Nest, and strategic investors including Jay-Z's Arrive and Maisie Williams, with initial grants from Harvard and MIT.

The company targets sustainability-conscious consumers in the U.S. and Canada, plans international expansion, and is led by founder and CEO Sanchali Pal. It has been recognized as a Time100 Company (2022), an Apple App Store App of the Day, and a Climate Neutral Certified Brand (2023), with ongoing product expansion reflected in newly added carbon removal partners and a subscription-based offset product.

Name

Commons

Legal name

Joro Tech, Inc.

Website

https://thecommons.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Commons is a free consumer mobile app that connects to bank accounts via Plaid to track users' carbon footprints from spending across 180+ categories, and offers expert-vetted sustainable brand ratings, rewards, and a carbon offset marketplace serving individual consumers in the U.S. and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Climate Fintech

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Carbon Removal Credits Trading (DAC, BECCS, Biochar, Mineralization) (EUAGAIAL)

Keywords

• Carbon footprint tracking
• Sustainable spending app
• Carbon offset marketplace
• Brand sustainability ratings
• Climate fintech

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Commissions: When users buy through Commons links to sustainable brands, the company earns a commission. Brands are independently evaluated and rated; affiliate partnerships do not influence brand ratings.
2. Offset Transaction Fees: A 20% transaction fee is charged on offset purchases for flights, gifts, or through the Climate Stewardship subscription to cover evaluation and monitoring costs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Commons operates a free mobile app (iOS/Android) available in the U.S. and Canada that automatically calculates a user's carbon footprint from spending by linking bank accounts via Plaid and applying proprietary carbon intensity data across 180+ spending categories. The app combines spend tracking, a directory of 400+ expert-rated sustainable brands, a points-based rewards system, and paid carbon offset products (Climate Stewardship subscription and one-time flight/gift offsets) into a single consumer sustainability platform.

Product overview

Commons is a consumer climate/finance app that combines spend tracking, brand ratings, rewards, and carbon offsets into a single platform. The core Commons App connects bank accounts via Plaid to automatically calculate personalized carbon footprints across 180+ spending categories, while the Brand Ratings directory (400+ brands) and Sustainable Rewards system incentivize shifting purchases to vetted sustainable brands. Add-on modules include a Climate Stewardship Subscription and one-time Carbon Offset Purchases backed by the Commons Offset Portfolio of 8 vetted avoidance and removal projects. Community features include monthly challenges, Impact Reports, and educational content via the Second Nature Podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commons Mobile App Free iOS/Android consumer app that connects bank accounts via Plaid to automatically calculate a personalized carbon footprint across 180+ spending categories, surfaces expert-rated sustainable brand alternatives, awards points for sustainable purchases, and offers optional carbon offset subscriptions and one-time offsets.
• Brand Ratings Directory Standalone web directory of 400+ brands evaluated by Commons' carbon experts on materials, slow consumption, and accountability, with a 5-tier rating scale (Best, Great, Acceptable, Insufficient, Bad) and category browsing; designed to cut through greenwashing and direct consumer spend toward vetted sustainable alternatives.
• Climate Stewardship Subscription Personalized monthly subscription that offsets exactly what the user emits, with payment scaling down as the user reduces emissions; backed by the Commons Offset Portfolio and a 20% Commons transaction fee for evaluation and monitoring.
• Carbon Offset Purchases One-time carbon offset purchases available for flights, gifts, and general climate contributions, sourced from the Commons Offset Portfolio of 8 vetted avoidance and removal projects and priced at $35/ton including the 20% Commons fee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Users reduced their annual carbon footprint by an average of 19% in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Vaulted DeepminorOthers · 1 October 2025Biomass carbon removal and storage partner. Transforms organic waste into carbon-rich slurry injected deep underground for millennium-scale storage.
• TakacharminorOthers · 1 October 2025Biochar carbon removal partner. Converts agricultural residues into biochar using portable pyrolyzers to improve soil health and sequester carbon.
• Mati CarbonminorOthers · 1 October 2025Enhanced rock weathering partner. Uses crushed rock powder in rice paddies to accelerate natural weathering processes that capture CO2.
• Exomad GreenminorOthers · 1 October 2025Biochar carbon removal in Bolivia. Converts forestry residues into biochar. As of 2025, has delivered more carbon removals than any other project on the market.
• PlaidcoreTechnology or IntegrationAPI integration enabling secure bank account connections for transaction tracking. Used by financial apps like Venmo, Mint, Truebill, and PayPal for bank-level security.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processor for handling transactions when users make purchases.
• TradewatercoreOthersOffset project partner in Thailand focused on avoided emissions from avoided unplanned deforestation. Project ID ACR 1108, estimated annual reduction of 257,469 MT.
• Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation ProjectcoreOthersOffset project in Indonesia via Pachama. REDD+ avoidance and ARR/WRC removals. Estimated annual reduction of 7,451,846 MT. 60-year durability.
• Delta Blue CarboncoreOthersMangrove restoration project in Sindh, Pakistan. VCS 2250, tidal wetland restoration. Estimated annual reduction of 2,407,629 MT.
• Charm IndustrialcoreOthersBio-oil sequestration project in Kansas, USA. Carbon removal via bio-oil. ~10,000 MT annual removal. 1000+ year durability.
• PachamacoreOthersSupplier of carbon offset credits from Katingan Peatland and Delta Blue Carbon projects.
• Change Climate ProjectcoreOthersAdministers the Climate Neutral Certified Standard. Collaborated with Commons to measure brand's total 2023 carbon footprint.
• Manoa REDD+ ProjectminorOthersOffset project used to compensate Commons' 2023 company footprint.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Doconomy: Doconomy offers a consumer-facing carbon footprint calculator tied to payment cards and banking apps, directly competing with Commons on bank-linked spend-based emissions tracking and offset purchasing.
• Cloverly: Cloverly provides carbon offset APIs and consumer-facing offset purchase flows, competing with Commons on offset portfolio curation, transparent pricing, and integration with sustainability-focused brands.
• Klima (now Tomorrow): Klima is a consumer climate app that enables individuals to track carbon footprints and purchase offsets through a subscription model, closely overlapping Commons' Climate Stewardship Subscription and offset portfolio.
• Terrapass: Terrapass is one of the longest-running consumer and small-business carbon offset retailers in the U.S., offering footprint calculators and offset subscriptions directly competitive with Commons.
• Chooose: Chooose is a carbon offset platform powering climate-action features for travel, e-commerce, and consumer brands; comparable to Commons in offset marketplace infrastructure and white-label consumer climate offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Watershed: Watershed is an enterprise-grade carbon accounting platform serving large corporates; broader in scope but comparable in underlying carbon calculation methodology and offset portfolio management.
• Patch: Patch offers a carbon credit API and offset marketplace for businesses; comparable to Commons' offset portfolio approach but B2B-focused rather than direct-to-consumer.
• South Pole Group: South Pole is a large carbon project developer and offset provider; comparable in offset portfolio methodology (e.g., Katingan, Delta Blue Carbon are South Pole-managed projects also used by Commons).
• Persefoni: Persefoni provides enterprise carbon accounting and climate management software; an adjacent incumbent using similar emissions-factor datasets to Commons but at corporate rather than consumer scale.

Others

• Pachama: Pachama is a nature-based carbon credit marketplace and a stated supplier of Commons' Katingan Peatland credits; comparable offset-curation thesis but operating as B2B infrastructure rather than consumer app.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/commonsearth
• Xx.com/thecommonsearth
• Instagraminstagram.com/commons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/commonsearth

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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 Commons