Christina Ingersoll

Soapbox Nerd Rant #4: No climate solution gets a free pass from accounting rules. I’ve been noticing another persistent fallacy in climate solution conversations; many people seem to think that some climate solutions are immune to accounting challenges such as additionality, durability, and/or leakage. For example, many in the verified carbon market think that tree planting doesn’t need to prove its additional benefit over natural forest regrowth, and even the UNFCCC seems to think that durability applies only to removals. This is false. Accounting rules work because they apply across the board. Believe me, after 15 years of work in this space, I get that these rules can be annoying . But that doesn’t mean they can and should be evaded. It sounds pedantic, but it’s true: functional markets and societies are built on the foundation of good rules. After decades of trial, error and effort in climate solution accounting, we have a pretty good sense of the base ruleset. That’s not to say we don’t need to refine and continue stress-testing these rules; we absolutely do. There’s tons of work needed to innovate accounting for rigor and efficiency. But the base requirements are well-known and universal: 1) The Additionality Rule: To claim any impact (aka a “credit), you need to demonstrate your actions are additional against a counterfactual (or baseline). 2) The Durability Rule: To ensure durable impact, you need to keep checking for it. 3) The Leakage Rule: To ensure your impact doesn’t have unintended consequences, you need to evaluate spillover effects (leakage). There are other rules to consider, but nobody gets a free pass from these three. In December, a group of scientists convened to take a hard look art these accounting rules and investigate ways to refine and stress test them for rigor and efficiency. We call ourselves Science for High Integrity Frameworks to Transform the Carbon Market, or SHIFT-CM. If you're a natural climate solution crediting geek, join us! https://lnkd.in/ghaT9ArP In upcoming posts, in the spirit of the SHIFT-CM science endeavor, I will unpack these (and other) climate solution accounting challenges, flag pitfalls and misconceptions, and suggest some innovations for the future. If you’d like to listen in on the next Soapbox Nerd conversation, pull up a chair in the LinkedIn village square (aka follow me). And the next time you are asked to evaluate the credibility of a project, don’t be afraid to ask: how have you accounted for additionality, durability, and leakage? @NaturalClimateSolutions Nature4Climate

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At Stand, we build models to understand and mitigate climate risk. Our work depends on an ecosystem of publicly available environmental data, now subject to risk of federal funding cuts. To protect that data and support climate research, we are introducing a Climate Data Commons. This federal data—such as those from NOAA, USGS, the U.S. Forest Service, LANDFIRE—are the backbone of climate risk science. We, along with researchers across the country, are increasingly concerned about its long-term stability and reliability. Internally, we’ve been working to aggregate, clean, and centralize these datasets as part of our internal pipeline. We now hope these will become important tools to support the ecosystem, ensuring the availability of datasets that power billions of dollars of climate research. If you are actively working on research or have been part of recent cuts, and would like to help us keep this data available for the world’s researchers, please reach out to us at datacommons@getstand.com. We’d love to work with you. Please read more in-depth here as we roll this out over the coming months. https://lnkd.in/enpjEPDG

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🚀 Big moves in the CeFi space! I am thrilled to announce Slash (https://www.slash.com), one of my strategic partners just secured $41M in a Series B funding round, led by the sharp minds at @GoodwaterCap. This is more than just capital—this is a strong vote of confidence in the future of crypto-powered financial infrastructure. 🔗 Slash is reshaping how businesses interact with money. As a neo-bank built for the digital asset age, they’re bridging the gap between fiat and crypto—offering tailored solutions to help companies exchange currencies and manage a diversified crypto treasury. What makes this raise exciting? 💼 Targeted utility: Unlike generalized banking apps, Slash is laser-focused on verticals that need custom financial rails—merchants, marketers, creators, and Web3-native companies. 🪙 Crypto-native features: Full-stack services for stablecoins, token accounting, and fiat off-ramps. 🌍 Global play: With this new funding, Slash is expected to scale its international footprint, deepen liquidity integrations, and continue enhancing fiat-crypto bridges. 🔍 As someone building at the intersection of AI and Blockchain, I believe this move reinforces the growing demand for specialized financial services in the Web3 ecosystem—especially in a world rapidly transitioning to decentralized and hybrid economic models. The broader picture? We’re witnessing the emergence of infrastructure that will support the next billion users and businesses entering the crypto economy. 💡 Slash isn’t just another fintech—they’re building the middleware layer that helps real-world companies thrive in a tokenized world. 👉 Read more 🔗 For those deep in blockchain, here are some related ecosystem players and their websites you might want to track alongside this news: Ethereum: https://ethereum.org Solana: https://solana.com Polygon: https://polygon.technology Avalanche: https://avax.network Arbitrum: https://arbitrum.io Optimism: https://optimism.io Binance Smart Chain: https://lnkd.in/e8AYNSJM Internet Computer (ICP): https://lnkd.in/dDAAUqt9 📈 This isn’t just about raising money. It’s about redefining banking in a multi-chain world. Congrats to the teams at Slash and Goodwater Capital for championing the future of programmable finance! 🥂 #CryptoBanking #CeFi #Web3Finance #VentureCapital #DigitalAssets #FintechFunding #AIxBlockchain #NeoBank #TokenEconomy #SlashApp #GoodwaterCapital #CryptoTreasury #LinkedInCrypto #DeFi #CryptoFundraising #Web3Infrastructure #darshanamanikkuwadura Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash)⚡️🇬🇧 🇱🇰⚡️

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#Climate is now the primary driver of #agricultural commodity prices - so we were surprised when we found out yesterday that the USDA has removed vital climate data from their website. As Karen Zraick notes in the The New York Times, farmers rely on climate data to protect them from risks linked to heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires, and other extreme weather events. It’s not just farmers who benefit from this information - we all rely on it. In the face of inflation and soaring prices at the grocery store, empowering farmers and protecting America’s #FoodSupply matters now more than ever. Starting today,  we’ll be giving away free access to the Helios platform for farmers across the US. Farmers who might benefit from our detailed datasets and price predictions, covering over 60 agricultural commodities from corn to soybeans to tomatoes - can sign up at www.helios.sc. This is a small way in which we can support the #growers that feed us every day, and make sure they retain access to crucial #climaterrisk information that can help them do their jobs. https://lnkd.in/eQGp3wmq

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I recently joined David Linich to share insights with Alan Neuhauser at Axios about how Restricted Substances Lists (RSLs) are evolving—and why they matter now more than ever. RSLs have been around for a while, helping industries like apparel, outdoor gear, and consumer goods manage chemical safety and compliance. But today, companies are using them more strategically—tightening criteria, adapting to shifting regulations, and responding to increasing consumer awareness. A few key takeaways from our conversation: 🔹 Regulations are getting stricter and companies are being pushed to phase out harmful substances faster. 🔹 People are paying closer attention to what’s in their products, and substances flagged on RSLs often become the focus of public scrutiny. 🔹 With growing regulations and increasing data requests, many companies are investing in better technology to streamline compliance and improve efficiency. RSLs aren’t new, but they’re becoming a bigger part of how companies lead on transparency, safer manufacturing, and long-term brand trust. Check out the full article here: Axios: Sustainable Skis & RSL Compliance https://lnkd.in/gwd3wuPs

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Open systems are complicated - not just from a scientific perspective, but also from an LCA boundaries perspective. This is especially true when open systems, like say agriculture, intersect with with other products and processes, like say biofuels. Turns out - clever people can draw a box around their system in a way that absolutely determines whether a project is carbon positive or carbon negative! Or to sharpen the point: whether the carbon negative parts are valued in the market while the carbon positive parts get swept under the accounting rug. The highlights for me were the thoughtful talks by Hao Cai of Argonne and Greg Cooney of NETL and now U Penn, who are deep practitioners of LCA within the fuels and "utilization" arenas. It is easy to get caught in the dialectic of who's more important between theorists and experimentalists, but these guys do the hard work at the intersection resolving the two. Many thanks to Jennifer Wilcox and Steve Hamburg for convening us to work through the mucky bits collaboratively and productively. https://lnkd.in/eafnKWr6

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“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” 🕰️ This idea was front and center at the Super South with Iesha Baldwin, Kyle Stapleton, and Tim Echols. Our panel, "Who’s Responsible for the Climate Crisis?" made one thing clear: If we want real climate solutions, we need intergenerational teams working on solution ideation together. As Gen Z enters the workforce, many passionate about change, often lack the historical context behind why businesses operate the way they do. If we're left siloed in entry-level roles, without access to critical conversations, it could be too late by the time we reach leadership positions. Gen Z needs to be learning the history, perspectives, and systems that have shaped current business practices, so that better solutions can be made tomorrow. That's how we create solutions that are informed by the past, but courageous enough to shape a better future. 🌎

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👋 I wanted to share some key takeaways from the recent CARB workshop on upcoming climate disclosure requirements for SB 253 and SB 261. My colleague Alyssa Zucker provided an excellent summary that I'll link in the comments. 📝 There's been some additional clarity on SB 261: no emissions disclosures are required for SB 261! 😲 This is a big clarification, but it makes me wonder: will companies still choose to disclose emissions anyway? For scenario analysis, a qualitative approach is perfectly acceptable, offering flexibility (also not required, at least in the first year). These insights are super helpful as companies navigate climate disclosure requirements. Staying informed and adaptable is key! 🔑 What are your thoughts on these clarifications? Let me know below! 👇 Also, a quick reminder about our webinar on September 3 with Kristen Sullivan and Michael Littenberg, where we'll definitely cover this topic among others! 🎙️ Last but definitely not least, don't forget Workiva’s Amplify conference in DC, September 8-10. Looking forward to seeing you there! 👀

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"Scope 1 and 2 are tough. Scope 3 is a black hole." That’s what most companies realize when they attempt a full GHG inventory. Scope 3 emissions often account for 70–90% of an organization’s total footprint — yet most companies struggle with missing, fragmented, or unreliable data. The real-world impact? 🔸 Poor Scope 3 data weakens your entire GHG inventory. 🔸 It delays setting credible Net-Zero targets under SBTi. 🔸 It opens you up to accusations of greenwashing. How we fix this at Global Network for Zero: ✅ Materiality-driven focus: We identify and prioritize Scope 3 categories that are most material to the client’s operations and climate goals. ✅ Supplier-specific engagement: We can initiate structured engagement programs with key suppliers to gradually replace generic data with primary activity data. ✅ Progressive data refinement: We can support clients in transitioning from spend-based estimates to activity-based calculations, starting with the highest impact categories. ✅ Transparent disclosure: We can ensure that data gaps, assumptions, and improvement plans are clearly documented and communicated, building trust and credibility. #GHGAccounting #Scope3Emissions #CarbonFootprint #NetZero #NetZeroJourney #ClimateDisclosure #Sustainability #ClimateAction #CarbonAccounting #Scope3 #Decarbonization #SBTi #SBTiNetZero #GHGProtocol #IFRSS2 #SupplyChainEmissions #CarbonStrategy #ESGReporting #EmissionReduction #CorporateSustainability

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