London Marathon Events (LME), a mass-participation events organizer, signed another deal for carbon removals as part of its net zero strategy.
The company signed its third deal with CUR8 and will purchase 1,935 tons of carbon removals from the global carbon removals market maker.
A carbon removal credit represents 1 ton of CO2 removed from the atmosphere that is physically stored for hundreds to thousands of years. Unlike carbon offsets, which pay for the avoidance of emissions or protection of natural carbon sinks (e.g. forests), carbon removal is a new asset class that is universally recognized by scientists.
CUR8 will manage a diverse portfolio of removal credits for LME that consists of six leading global projects across the spectrum of nature-based to human-engineered, such as: Carboneers, an Indian biochar initiative with strong social and community co-benefits; InPlanet, an innovative Brazilian Enhanced Rock weathering project; and 1PointFive, a global direct air capture (DAC) leader set to have the world’s first plant capable of reaching megaton scale. Alongside this, LME will use CUR8’s proprietary Credit Management Platform to ensure that its portfolio delivers on sustainability goals.
LME set a target of reaching net zero by the end of 2030 and continues to launch initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint, which include the following:
- Cutting diesel fuel use by using electric vehicles and switching to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) for generators
- Testing technology to enable participants to choose the most carbon-efficient travel to events
- Encouraging suppliers and partners to take significant action to cut emissions
“Our vision is to drive positive change in environmental sustainability through our own actions and inspire our stakeholders and partners to do the same,” said Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events, in a statement. “We all need to take action now and it is good to see many more major sports events organisers now investing in carbon removal through CUR8 as part of the journey to net zero.”
LME, which celebrates the 45th edition of the London Marathon in 2025, organizes mass-participation events including the TCS London Marathon, Swim Serpentine, The Big Half, Vitality Westminster Mile and Vitality London 10,000.