Dive Brief:
- Global management consulting firm Bain & Company announced Tuesday it signed its first direct air capture carbon removal deal with 1PointFive, Occidental Petroleum’s carbon capture, utilization and sequestration subsidiary.
- Bain purchased 9,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits over a three-year period, according to a press release. The credits will be generated using direct air capture technology provided at Stratos, 1PointFive’s first industrial-scale DAC facility, which is currently under construction in Ector County, Texas.
- The agreement will allow Bain to “address residual operational emissions and meet its current net negative commitment,” according to the Jan. 13 release. The consulting firm pledged in 2022 to have a net-negative carbon impact every year and said it will work to achieve the goal by cutting emissions and investing in high-quality carbon removal projects to offset its annual footprint.
Dive Insight:
According to the agreement, the captured carbon dioxide underlying the credits will be stored through geologic sequestration — a process for storing atmospheric carbon in underground geologic formations, such as porous rock formations.
“Collaborating with Bain & Company reflects our shared commitment to innovation and the importance of accelerating the adoption of Direct Air Capture technology,” 1PointFive President and General Manager Anthony Cottone said in the release. “We believe this agreement demonstrates continued momentum for the solution while supporting the development of vital domestic infrastructure.”
The Stratos facility is expected to be the largest direct air capture facility in the world and designed to capture up to 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually once fully operational, according to 1PointFive. The facility plans to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere, which can then be stored deep underground or utilized to produce low carbon products. Stratos will have the ability to store CO2 in saline formations, which creates a carbon removal credit that businesses can purchase to address their emissions, according to 1PointFive’s website.
Stratos was previously slated to begin commercial operations in mid-2025, but the Texas-based facility is still under construction, according to the company’s website. The facility is “progressing through startup activities,” Tuesday’s press release said.
Bain isn’t the first consulting firm to partner with 1PointFive to cut its carbon footprint. Boston Consulting Group inked a deal with the carbon capture company — launched in 2020 as part of Occidental’s Low Carbon Ventures businesses — for 21,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits over a three-year term in 2024. In addition to providing the credits, 1PointFive said at the time it would collaborate with BCG, which has a goal of reaching net-zero climate impact by 2030, through consulting services and help it develop business processes that back DAC carbon removal credits.
