Working on a project to fight climate change?
Here's what we look for:
We want to know about every project out there: from ideas on paper to fully commercialized solutions. We will consider any project or solution that stores CO₂ outside of the atmosphere. This includes high-volume, short-term storage solutions that buy us precious time now while long-term, durable carbon removal technologies develop and scale.
Keep reading below to find out more about our fund, approach and what we look for in a project.
Our Sustainability Fund was created to help reverse climate change
This means reducing and addressing emissions now, and also supporting emerging technologies that the world needs to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
Since 2020, Shopify has committed $32 million to 22 companies across nine different verticals, from ocean-based removal to direct air capture to soil carbon storage. To learn more about how we evaluate solutions, select companies, and craft our contracts, check out Shopify’s playbook about How to Kickstart the Carbon Removal Market.
What else is out there?
When the time comes to launch our next application round, we’ll be looking to get an updated view of emerging solutions across all verticals, and add new companies to our fund. Our objective is to purposefully allocate every dollar—which means we need to know about all of the high-potential solutions that could benefit from Shopify’s support to remove barriers and accelerate progress.
We want to hear from all solution types at any development stage
We will consider any project or solution that stores CO₂ outside of the atmosphere. This includes high-volume, short-term storage solutions that buy us precious time now while long-term, durable carbon removal technologies develop and scale. We are open to projects that are an idea on paper, all the way up to fully commercialized solutions.
We care about 4 key things
There is nothing we won’t consider as long as it has the potential to scale and make a meaningful contribution to reversing climate change.
Climate benefit
The lifecycle of the project is net carbon negative (i.e. emissions from the project < CO₂ that is captured and stored)
Scalability
The project/solution has the potential to make a meaningful contribution to reversing climate change, and at an affordable price in the longer term
Voluntary market support is necessary for implementation
Project economics rely on revenue from carbon credit sales
Co-benefits
Projects that support social equity and provide other environmental benefits
Why should you apply?
This isn’t one-size fits all
We co-develop our partnerships and purchase agreements to be as impactful as possible. We offer multi-year purchases with flexible terms that are positioned to support your project’s unique path to commercialization.
Unlock access to other customers
Shopify has built a large network of companies that are interested in purchasing carbon removal. We also leverage our Sustainability Fund companies to offer climate solutions to our merchants through promotions and our Planet app. This exposes our fund companies to millions of merchants who are on Shopify’s platform.
Early revenue stream
Shopify will purchase carbon credits before a company is ready to participate in the open market. This early revenue from a reputable buyer allows companies to secure better equity rounds, grant funding, and capital financing solutions.
Market insights
Shopify is embedded in the voluntary carbon market and we know what customers want. We provide valuable insights and advice that help companies build a solid business case and approach to participate effectively in the constantly evolving voluntary market.
What to Expect
We are not accepting applications to the Shopify Sustainability Fund at this time.
We typically request two simple components to apply to our process: a form and a slide deck. This is not meant to take a lot of time—we’d rather you focus on building your business. Beyond basic contact information, we want to understand your approach and where you hope to go.
We want you to have fun with the slide deck. Include pictures, graphics, link out to other information sources… whatever it takes to give us a good understanding of the science behind your approach, path to scale, and why you want to work with us.
We review all applications for climate benefit, scalability, need for voluntary market support, and co-benefits, and invite high potential companies to submit additional detailed information. We then conduct final interviews, make our selections, and sign purchase agreements with selected companies.
Sign up for our newsletter to get notified about the next opportunity to apply to our fund:
GET NOTIFIED