Washington DC-based C-Quest Capital (CQC) is an award-winning global carbon project developer that is making a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable families worldwide. Since 2008, C-Quest has been implementing large-scale carbon avoidance and reduction clean energy projects generating high-quality carbon credits while delivering significant benefits to impoverished communities.
CQC’s ultimate goal is to drive a sustained transition towards a climate-resilient future, particularly for the poorest communities in the world that bear the heaviest burden and risks from climate change. By utilizing carbon finance, the company aims to achieve scalable and permanent change towards sustainable alternatives.
CQC strives to create projects that genuinely transform lives, behaviours, and technologies that leave a lasting impact on the planet and people’s prosperity. Their diverse portfolio of carbon reduction projects includes clean cookstoves, efficient lighting, and methane leak avoidance.
Headquartered in Washington DC, CQC operates day-to-day through local offices in India, Malawi, Singapore, Cambodia, and Australia. The company has a global team of over 400 professionals and deploys more than 2,000 field staff across Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, and South and Southeast Asia. CQC’s dedicated teams lead operations in over 25 countries, with additional countries in the pipeline.
CQC’s success in expanding their global impact across their project portfolio can partly be attributed to their dedicated investment team based in Sydney, Australia. Prior to venturing into new countries or regions, the team thoroughly evaluates multiple factors to assess a project’s feasibility, including financial return models, social and sustainable development impacts, and the potential for sustained positive effects on households beyond the initial carbon project in the respective region or village.
Once a project is underway, the team engages with a variety of internal stakeholders to ensure the envisioned impact is achieved. The team is also responsible for raising all the required funding to execute the projects, typically using Special Purpose Vehicles. Investors are a combination of large corporate investors, who are also accessing a portion of the stream of associated carbon offsets, and specialist sustainable impact investors, examples of which are Macquarie Bank and GenZero, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek, who share common values and goals with CQC.
“When we look to raise capital from different types of investors, we look to raise capital from people who can add value to the communities we serve. We don’t just want their money, we want their engagement” Mark Woodall, CQC Chief Investment Officer.
Mark’s views are further reflected in CQC’s impact on communities that is characterised by continuous engagement of individual beneficiaries, traditional authorities and governments that go beyond best practice.
The company measures its impact through several key indicators. To date, CQC has successfully reduced 27.5 million tons of CO2e emissions, improved the lives of over 30 million individuals through its projects, and contributed to achieving between 5 and 10 UN Sustainable Development Goals per project, showcasing the wide-ranging co-benefits their initiatives provide. CQC’s sizable impact on the ground can be attributed to its focus on achieving critical mass in each region to drive permanent change by integrating production, supply chains, and inputs to build robust ecosystems in the communities they serve.
Looking ahead, CQC has set ambitious targets for the future. By 2030, they aim to generate over 1 billion tonnes of emission reductions and removals through their projects and positively impact the lives of 100 million people worldwide.
CQC’s projects yield numerous benefits for both people and the planet. For example, individuals that receive improved cookstoves in vulnerable communities, benefit from:
- Reduction of health risks for women and girls.
- Access to reliable and efficient energy sources.
- Decreased drudgery and increased access to stable employment.
- Improved household food safety and nutrition intake.
- Reduced exposure to harmful gases.
- Increased productivity through meaningful time savings.
In terms of the planet, CQC’s efforts contribute to:
- Significant emission reductions that mitigate climate change.
- Reduction of the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming.
- Decreased demand for charcoal and wood as fuel.
- Combatting deforestation.
The company recognises the pivotal role of women and girls in driving change within energy, agriculture, and land management practices. The company is dedicated to transforming the lives of women and girls by improving their health, productivity, and providing empowerment and economic opportunities. By enhancing their capacity to lead healthy and productive lives, CQC believes they can greatly contribute to food and water security and sustainable economic development in the face of climate change.
CQC is putting this into practice with the launch of their Nature Based Solution’s program of activities, which supports the development of regenerative agriculture practices, afforestation and intercropping at the small holder farmer level, creating climate resilient food production and economic development for some of the poorest communities in Sub Saharan Africa.
Learn more about CQC’s projects and hear from the women impacted by these projects – https://www.youtube.com/CQuestCapital