Native Launch
A new London-based climate tech startup has launched! Native partners with indigenous guardians to make it easy for people to protect and restore biodiverse ecosystems around the world such as rainforests, mangroves and coral reefs.
Individuals and companies can pay to protect a “Native Square”, a specific 3m2 of nature, can view a map pinpointing the exact location of their Native Square along with a dashboard tracking their impact across carbon, biodiversity and community.
The first project listed on the Native platform is 60,000 hectares of pristine rainforest in the Pacific island nation of Solomon Islands. The forest has a carbon density of 70kg of carbon per 3m2, several endemic species on the ICUN endangered species list, and indigenous communities who have stewarded the forest for generations. A Native Square will cost $3 to protect for 40 years, and local indigenous communities will receive 90% of the revenue.
Native is being launched by an international team of young climate professionals from the UK, Tonga, Pakistan, Brunei and the Cayman Islands led by CEO Robert Cobbold.
Native’s first three clients are three independent UK companies gngr bees, a sustainable activewear brand, Snow Carbon, an independent website dedicated to helping skiers and snowboarders travel to ski resorts by train and The Typeface Group, a BCorp marketing agency and design studio.
The climate and biodiversity crisis is often viewed as a complex and difficult problem to solve prompting feelings of helplessness and climate anxiety. But on closer investigation the prices that logging companies pay to log pristine rainforest is less than $3 per 3m2 which makes it possible to outbid logging companies by adding a small premium to consumer purchases.
About the CEO
Robert Cobbold is an entrepreneur, public speaker and philosopher who has spoken to over 40,000 people about the climate crisis worldwide. Previously he worked in climate education and a corporate sustainability thinktank, before co-founding a startup which cleared 200 tonnes of trash from the oceans. He is also founding editor of Conscious Evolution, an online publication and podcast aiming to kindle an evolutionary transition and help people find meaning and purpose.