carbonbuddy
CarbonBuddy is a Hawaii-based, founder-led climate platform providing self-service emission calculators and carbon offset services to Hawaii businesses, tourism operators, individuals, events, and global small businesses, combining Gold Standard international projects with local Hawaiian initiatives.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKailua Kona, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What carbonbuddy does
CarbonBuddy (legal entity Carbonbuddy LLC) is a privately held, founder-led climate action platform founded in 2017 by M. Johannes Seidel and headquartered in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The company provides self-service emission calculation calculators and carbon offset purchasing services, targeting Hawaii-based businesses, tourism operators, nonprofits, individuals, and events, with secondary reach to global citizens and small businesses outside Hawaii via the GCEC and GSBEC international calculators.
The product portfolio is modular: nine specialized emission calculators (HBEC for Hawaii businesses, HTBEC for tourism businesses, HREC for residents, HVEC for visitors, HBEE and HPEEC for business and private events, GCEC for global citizens, GSBEC for global small businesses, and ATEC for air travel) feed into an offset purchase system supporting both Gold Standard certified international projects (e.g., Philippines wind, Guatemala wind, Kiva micro-loan program) and four local Hawaiian offset partners (Hawaiian Community Assets, Hawaii Ulu Cooperative, Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, Mālama Kauai). Add-on modules include the CarbonDashboard for transparency reporting, ClimateBuddyLabel for climate-leadership branding, and the public #ClimateBuddyMap. The underlying stack is built on third-party SaaS infrastructure — Cognito Forms for data collection, AppyPie for the mobile app, Stripe and PayPal for payments, Mailchimp for email, Zapier for automation, and Google Analytics for tracking — with calculation methodology grounded in Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards, EPA eGRID2012 for Hawaii electricity emissions, and Google Earth Pro for flight route distances.
The business model combines freemium calculation tools with transaction-fee offset sales priced at $20-$25/ton, where at least 75% of each contribution flows to certified projects, plus branded merchandise revenue (stickers at $54-$140, dashboard prints at $15-$105, infographics at $3-$5.50). Go-to-market is product-led and community-driven, leveraging the website, mobile app, social channels, the #HawaiiClimateTalks event series, and the #ClimateBuddyMap for public visibility. The company has not disclosed external funding and operates with a 1-10 person team, with the founder holding CEM and CAP credentials underpinning the technical positioning.
carbonbuddy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- carbonbuddy
- Legal name
- Carbonbuddy LLC
- Website
- https://carbonbuddy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CarbonBuddy is a Hawaii-based, founder-led climate platform providing self-service emission calculators and carbon offset services to Hawaii businesses, tourism operators, individuals, events, and global small businesses, combining Gold Standard international projects with local Hawaiian initiatives.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
carbonbuddy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Climate Action Software & Carbon Offset Services
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (541620)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Carbon Neutrality/Claims Strategy & Communications (claims substantiation, greenwashing risk) (EUABAKAK), Avoided Conversion & Ecosystem Protection (REDD+, Blue Carbon Conservation) (EUABABAC), Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) (EUABABAE)
Keywords
Where carbonbuddy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kailua Kona
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
carbonbuddy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Carbon Offset Sales: Customers purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their calculated emissions. At least 75% of offset contributions go to certified projects. International projects are Gold Standard certified. Local projects support Hawaii-based initiatives.
- Branded Merchandise: Sale of ClimateBuddyLabel stickers, #CarbonDashboard hardcopies, and infographics for businesses to market their climate leadership.
- Emission Calculation Services: Free and paid self-service tools for individuals, businesses, and events to calculate carbon footprints.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | #CarbonDashboard digital certificates |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | ClimateBuddyLabel stickers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Infographic prints |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Kiva offset project |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hawaii Ulu Cooperative solar offset |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
carbonbuddy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CarbonBuddy provides self-guided web-based and mobile tools that calculate greenhouse gas emissions for individuals, businesses, and events, alongside carbon offset packages that fund certified international and local Hawaii-based sustainability initiatives. Its product suite includes audience-specific emission calculators (residents, visitors, businesses, tourism operators, events, global citizens), a mobile tracking app, and complementary marketing assets such as the ClimateBuddyLabel and CarbonDashboard for businesses demonstrating climate leadership.
Product overview
CarbonBuddy is a climate action platform offering a comprehensive suite of emission calculation and carbon offset tools. The core product portfolio includes individual mobile apps and calculators for Hawai'i residents, visitors, and businesses, as well as international tools for global citizens and small businesses. The platform operates on a modular architecture where users first calculate emissions through specialized calculators (HBEC, HTBEC, HREC, HVEC, HBEE, HPEEC, GCEC, GSBEC, ATEC), then offset through local Hawai'i projects (Hawaiian Community Assets, Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative, Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, Mālama Kauai) or certified international projects. Premium add-on services include the CarbonDashboard for transparent climate impact reporting, ClimateBuddyLabel for marketing offset achievements, and ClimateBuddyMap for public visibility. The company also operates ClimateBuddyStore for physical merchandise and hosts the #HawaiiClimateTalks event series for community engagement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CarbonDashboard: A transparency tool that allows businesses, organizations, and events to display their climate impact in an easy-to-understand graphic format.
- ClimateBuddyLabel
Quantifiable outcome
- Minimum 75% of offset contributions go directly to certified projects
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use carbonbuddy
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
carbonbuddy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature5 records
carbonbuddy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- KivacoreCarbonBuddy partners with Kiva.org to offer offset options that support small-scale renewable energy and agriculture projects globally. For each ton offset via Kiva option ($20/ton), $10 is forwarded to Kiva projects. This allows customers to tackle both climate change and inequality simultaneously.
- Hawaiian Community AssetscoreLocal Hawaii nonprofit partner. CarbonBuddy supported installation of photovoltaic system on Hawaii's First-and-Only Financial Opportunity Center in Hilo. The project enables $35,000+ in energy cost savings to support free financial education for low- and moderate-income residents.
- Hawaii Ulu CooperativecoreLocal Hawaii agricultural cooperative. CarbonBuddy offers offset packages ($25/ton) supporting installation of photovoltaic system on the cooperative's processing facility in Honalo. Project reduces >100t emissions/year and supports local food production.
- Waikoloa Dry Forest InitiativecoreLocal Hawaii nonprofit. CarbonBuddy supports tropical dry forest restoration in Waikoloa Dry Forest Preserve. Project creates native habitat and sequesters carbon, with half a tree planted for every 2 tons offset.
- Malam a KauaicoreLocal Hawaii nonprofit. CarbonBuddy supports community food crop tree distribution project in Kilauea, Kauai. Offsets support making locally propagated food trees available to the Kauai community at no cost.
- Project DrawdownminorCarbonBuddy references Project Drawdown's climate solution ratings for their offset projects, using their ranking system (out of 80 best solutions) to communicate project impact quality.
- Greenhouse Gas ProtocolminorCarbonBuddy uses GHGP calculation tools and methodologies as the foundation for their emission calculations, ensuring alignment with international standards.
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)minorCarbonBuddy uses EPA tools, resources, and data (eGRID, Center of Corporate Climate Leadership) for emission calculations.
- Gold StandardminorMany international offset projects offered by CarbonBuddy are Gold Standard certified, ensuring high-quality verified emissions reductions.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
carbonbuddy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Patch: API-first marketplace for high-quality carbon offsets serving SMB and enterprise customers with embedded checkout and developer tooling. Direct competitor to CarbonBuddy's offset + calculator offering, but at much larger scale and with deeper integrations CarbonBuddy lacks.
- Cloverly: Carbon offsetting API and platform for businesses to calculate, purchase, and embed offsets. Closely comparable to CarbonBuddy's calculator-plus-offset model, with a heavier enterprise/API focus.
- Terrapass: Long-standing US retailer of verified carbon offsets and emission calculators for individuals, businesses, and events. Direct competitor in the SMB and consumer offset market that CarbonBuddy also serves.
- Pachama: Marketplace for nature-based carbon credits with ML-driven project quality assessment. Direct peer in the voluntary offset space with stronger nature-based project emphasis that overlaps CarbonBuddy's local forestry offset offerings.
- Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and reduction platform that also facilitates offset purchases. Comparable product architecture (measure + reduce + offset) targeting businesses, though aimed at larger enterprise accounts than CarbonBuddy.
- myclimate: Swiss-based climate protection foundation offering carbon calculators, offset products, and corporate climate-neutral labels. Direct peer in calculator + offset + 'climate neutral label' positioning, with stronger international footprint.
- Cool Effect: Non-profit carbon offset marketplace focused on high-quality verified projects and SMB/individual purchases. Comparable retail offset experience and target buyer to CarbonBuddy, with a different funding structure.
Broad incumbents
- South Pole Group: Large global climate solutions provider offering carbon advisory, project development, and offset retail. Comparable scope but at significantly greater scale and breadth than CarbonBuddy's niche Hawaii focus.
Emerging players
- Native (formerly NCX): Nature-based carbon credit platform focused on improved forest management credits. Adjacent competitor that overlaps CarbonBuddy's dry-forest restoration offset angle but is more specialized in forestry quantification.
Regional players
- Carbon Lighthouse: US-based climate technology company focused on emission reduction in commercial buildings through measurement + project finance. Tangentially comparable as a carbon platform serving businesses, though oriented toward reduction rather than offset retail.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
carbonbuddy social profiles
Digital presencecarbonbuddy compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
carbonbuddy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
carbonbuddy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
carbonbuddy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
carbonbuddy 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 carbonbuddy
What does carbonbuddy do?
CarbonBuddy provides self-guided web-based and mobile tools that calculate greenhouse gas emissions for individuals, businesses, and events, alongside carbon offset packages that fund certified international and local Hawaii-based sustainability initiatives. Its product suite includes audience-specific emission calculators (residents, visitors, businesses, tourism operators, events, global citizens), a mobile tracking app, and complementary marketing assets such as the ClimateBuddyLabel and CarbonDashboard for businesses demonstrating climate leadership.
Is carbonbuddy a public or private company?
carbonbuddy is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was carbonbuddy founded?
carbonbuddy was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is carbonbuddy based?
carbonbuddy is headquartered in Kailua Kona, United States, in the North America region.
How does carbonbuddy make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Carbon Offset Sales are the primary driver. The others are branded Merchandise and emission Calculation Services.
Who are carbonbuddy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Patch, Cloverly, Terrapass, Pachama, Watershed, myclimate and Cool Effect. South Pole Group is listed as a broad incumbent. Native (formerly NCX) is listed as an emerging player. Carbon Lighthouse is listed as a regional player.
Does carbonbuddy have an API?
No public API is recorded for carbonbuddy.
What industry is carbonbuddy in?
carbonbuddy's product category is Climate Action Software & Carbon Offset Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUABAEAD, Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms, with a secondary code of EUABAKAK, Carbon Neutrality/Claims Strategy & Communications (claims substantiation, greenwashing risk). Its NAICS code is 541620.