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UNDO has teamed up with technology company Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive platform, to ‘put the brakes on carbon’ and bring co-benefits to rural farming communities. We are thrilled to collaborate with a business motivated to support community-driven climate action and the caretakers of our land. More than 70% of the UK’s land is farmed, and this partnership emphasises bringing co-benefits to UK soils and the farmers that work them.
Auto Trader’s climate contribution strategy has already committed £350,000 to environmental initiatives and carbon dioxide removal projects, and the company has set a Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-validated target to achieve net zero by 2040. Their plan to reach this goal is through a significant reduction (90%) in carbon emissions while addressing the remaining 10% of emissions through carbon contribution projects doing carbon removal. The UNDO partnership is the first of these carbon removal project announcements.
Details of the Auto Trader Carbon Removal Collaboration
As part of the agreement with Auto Trader, UNDO will spread 1,839 tonnes of mineral-rich basalt rock on agricultural land in the UK, which will permanently remove approximately 340 tonnes of CO₂. The rock that is spread is an existing aggregate product supplied by
UNDO’s network of quarries across North East England. The deal will use the ICROA-endorsed Puro Standard methodology to quantify high-quality, high-durability CO₂ Removal Certificates (CORCs). As well as funding UNDO’s enhanced rock weathering (ERW) operations, Auto Trader will fund the company’s Measurement, Reporting, and Verification process and agronomy trials, supporting the advancement of ERW science.
“We’re so excited to work with UNDO to not only permanently remove carbon dioxide but to support their verification processes so we can better understand the impact of their work as they scale. Data and technology will play key roles in fighting the climate emergency and so this work is absolutely vital, and we’re incredibly proud to play a small part in that. This initiative is on top of our carbon reduction efforts and is by no means an alternative to doing our best to reduce our emissions in line with our net zero commitment.”
Christos Tsaprounis, People and Culture Director at Auto Trader
All about Enhanced Rock Weathering
Enhanced Rock Weathering is a scalable technology with significant co-benefits to soil health and crop yields. It accelerates the natural geological process of weathering whereby the CO₂ in rainwater interacts with silicate rocks such as basalt, forming bicarbonate ions that are transported to the ocean where they remain for geological time. As this mineral-rich volcanic rock breaks down, it releases magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and other nutrients, increasing crop yield, raising and stabilising soil pH and ultimately, reducing the need for fertilisers. Our CDR solution, at its core, reverses climate change while restoring nature.
At a macro scale, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that 10 billion tonnes of CO₂ needs to be removed per year by mid-century. ERW, if scaled, can remove 4 billion tonnes annually, thus accounting for 40% of the world’s annual targets. Of course, this must be a parallel effort to rapid decarbonisation across all industries. In 2023 alone, humankind emitted 37.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the International Energy Agency.
Next Steps for the Partnership
In June of 2024, Auto Trader visited UNDO’s UK project site to capture footage of our CDR solution in action. They created a film to educate their 1,300 employees and the Auto Trader community about why carbon removal is necessary and why ERW is uniquely suited to Auto Trader’s focus on environmentally beneficial, community-centred technologies.
Auto Trader’s environmental strategy ‘Putting the brakes on Carbon’ will continue to drive the company’s purpose to ‘Drive Change Together, Responsibly’. UNDO will continue to establish a range of operational partnerships that will enable the spreading of millions of tonnes of basalt each year. Auto Trader joins the likes of Microsoft and Stripe as the latest from the technology sector to partner with UNDO.
“We’re proud that Auto Trader has selected UNDO as its first enhanced rock weathering supplier. Our approach represents one of the most robust climate-tech solutions available today because it is permanent, highly scalable, and provides a host of co-benefits. With the support of our commercial partners, we are committed to creating a liveable planet for future generations.”
Jim Mann, co-founder and CEO at UNDO
Accelerate Carbon Removal with Us
Support enhanced rock weathering projects that permanently remove CO2 while enriching UK farmlands. Together, we can drive impactful climate action and foster sustainable communities.
