Strengthening Vesta's Commitment to Transparency Through Independent Scientific Monitoring

Last month, Vesta completed the deployment of our second Coastal Carbon Capture pilot project in Duck, North Carolina, which we estimate could remove at least 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the ocean and atmosphere.   Coastal Carbon Capture can integrate into existing coastal protection efforts, addressing the cause of climate change - excess carbon dioxide - while helping coastal communities access more affordable sand for coastal protection.

This is a significant milestone, not just for us, but for the science of marine carbon dioxide removal: the results from our field project in Duck will help us - and the world - understand what role Coastal Carbon Capture could play in stabilizing the climate while protecting coastal communities.  

As a public benefit corporation, our mission has always been to put science at the forefront of developing Coastal Carbon Capture, ensuring that our approach is underpinned by field and laboratory studies that investigate the safety and effectiveness of the approach.  The results of our scientific work have been shared with the world in public reports, peer-reviewed scientific journals, and at numerous scientific conferences.

A New Partnership

We have recently doubled down on our commitment to transparency through a new partnership with the non-profit Hourglass Climate, which is independently performing the scientific monitoring, analysis, and peer-reviewed publishing of our deployment in Duck, NC. Working with the Grantham Foundation and Dr. Grace Andrews, the Executive Director of Hourglass Climate, Vesta supported the creation of this new entity by enabling the transfer of various scientific assets to Hourglass and by providing a research license to all of Vesta’s relevant intellectual property. We are delighted to continue working with Dr. Andrews, Vesta’s former Head of Science, in this new capacity.

Robust science is necessary but not sufficient, for building trust in the field of marine carbon dioxide removal. The monitoring of field deployments by independent experts is needed to continue building and maintaining trust with local communities, worldwide stakeholders, and carbon markets. We could not be more fortunate to work with Dr. Andrews, a leading expert in enhanced weathering, and her team of scientists. We hope other companies in our industry will also work with Hourglass Climate to monitor marine deployments of carbon dioxide removal, further establishing trust in the entire field.

The Future of Vesta

Vesta formerly operated with a hybrid model wherein research conducted and published for the public benefit was eligible for charitable funding. We have simplified our corporate model to be a pure public benefit corporation - a mission-driven company funded by investors and government grants.

With our updated model, Vesta will continue to be responsible for planning and executing Coastal Carbon Capture deployments. This includes community engagement, which is foundational to our commitment to responsible deployment. In all the communities in which we work, we engage with transparency and curiosity, well before any decisions are made to commit to moving forward with a project. Community engagement continues on an ongoing basis throughout planning, completing, and monitoring a deployment. We have been recognized by coastal towns and the community of marine CDR observers for our thorough approach and contributions to social science.

In Duck and beyond, operating with the utmost transparency and integrity is essential for determining if and how to successfully scale up marine carbon dioxide removal approaches like Coastal Carbon Capture for maximum safe climate impact.  We are excited for this new chapter, in which we will continue to show the world that we mean what we say when it comes to these core values.