West Coast Innovations in
Carbon Removal 2026

The State of Carbon Removal in West Coast

Carbon removal on the West Coast is moving from early-stage experimentation to disciplined industrial deployment. What began as a wave of pilot ventures is consolidating into a sector defined by bankability, delivery timelines and integration with existing industrial systems. The region remains technically advantaged, with extensive geological storage, established permitting in provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, access to low-carbon energy, and strong industrial foundations across forestry, mining and energy.

However, a structural advantage without acceleration is fragile. Competing jurisdictions now combine similar geological capacity with faster capital deployment and stronger incentives, notably the US 45Q tax credit. While Canada’s Investment Tax Credit improves project economics, large-scale facilities still require long-term, creditworthy offtake agreements to secure financing. Capital is mobile, and projects will gravitate to markets where funding certainty is greatest.

Carbon removal is increasingly being reframed from discretionary climate expenditure to strategic asset creation. Biogenic and engineered removals, particularly under mechanisms such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, are emerging as bankable and tradable instruments. Capturing emissions from forestry residues, pulp mills and wildfire-prone landscapes converts unmanaged carbon flows into certified assets with material balance sheet and trade implications.

Demand remains the binding constraint. Technical readiness has outpaced durable market formation, and voluntary buyers alone cannot underwrite infrastructure-scale deployment. Significant capital requirements, long revenue horizons, fragmented standards and inconsistent policy signals continue to slow progress and heighten credibility risks.

The sector is now defined by delivery. Carbon removal is positioning itself as enabling infrastructure for hard-to-abate sectors, including aviation, maritime transport, defence and heavy industry. Maturity will be measured in operating facilities, verified tonnes delivered and coherent policy alignment, rather than announcements or ambition alone.

Key Takeaways from Carbon Unbound West Coast 2026

1. Carbon removal is firmly on Canada’s public agenda
We closed with remarks from Wade Grant, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, underscoring a clear signal: government is stepping into its role as an enabler of scale. Carbon removal is no longer peripheral. It is becoming embedded in Canada’s climate and industrial strategy.

2. Markets are demanding accountability
The conversation has shifted from pilots to performance. Buyers are prioritising durable credits, bankable infrastructure and credible pathways to scale. The next phase of the market will reward projects that can demonstrate measurable impact, operational resilience and long term viability.

3. Policy is the engine room
Regulation is increasingly determining what gets financed and built. From North America’s evolving voluntary carbon markets to Canada’s offsets framework and global mechanisms such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, policy is not simply influencing the market. It is actively shaping it.

4. Scaling must be responsible
Growth without guardrails is not an option. Indigenous ownership and Free, Prior and Informed Consent, responsible DAC siting, sustainable biomass use and mining linked removals all reinforced a central theme: scale must be grounded in strong social licence and environmental integrity.

5. Investment momentum is building
Investor and buyer supplier sessions were full and focused, generating high intent conversations that compressed months of introductions into minutes. Capital is active, strategic and increasingly informed. The pipeline of investable projects continues to strengthen.

90%

C-Suite & Senior Management

1,100+

1-2-1 Meetings Booked

252+

Unique Organisations
Chantal Spit
Head of Production, Unbound Summits

Our Sponsors

Platinum

Isometric is a carbon crediting standard and registry that issues high-quality, scientifically-backed credits for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. It functions as a registry for carbon credits, where one credit represents one ton of carbon dioxide permanently removed from the atmosphere. Isometric provides a transparent platform to track these credits from issuance to retirement, ensuring scientific rigor, durability, and additionality for every credit. The company's goal is to scale carbon removal responsibly by rebuilding trust in the carbon market through its stringent standards and public registry.

PLATINUM

We make filters and rotary contactor machines that capture and remove CO2, a greenhouse gas, from industrial emissions and the air. Our proven carbon capture technology is based on unique solid adsorbents — and it’s scalable, eco-friendly, and commercially available today.

OUR UNIQUE APPROACH TO CARBON CAPTURE

Based on environmentally friendly solid sorbent technology, our carbon capture and removal solutions offer companies in heavy emitting, hard-to-decarbonize industries a commercially viable way to capture and remove CO2 emissions. The CO2 we capture is concentrated to pipeline-grade purity, which can be safely transported and stored underground or used to make other products.

PLATINUM

Gold

Carbon Engineering (CE) is a Canadian-based clean energy company leading the commercialization of ground breaking technology that captures CO₂ directly from air, and a second technology that synthesizes it into clean, affordable transportation fuels.

Gold

EcoEngineers, an LRQA company, is a consulting, auditing, and advisory firm with an exclusive focus on the energy transition and decarbonization. From innovation to impact, Eco helps its clients navigate the disruption caused by carbon emissions and climate change. Eco helps organizations stay informed, measure emissions, make investment decisions, maintain compliance, and manage data through the lens of carbon accounting. Its team of engineers, scientists, auditors, consultants, and researchers live and work at the intersection of low-carbon fuel policy, innovative technologies, and the carbon marketplace. Eco was established in 2009 to steer low-carbon fuel producers through the complexities of emerging energy regulations in the United States.

GOLD

Gold Standard is an independent NGO committed to ensuring climate action delivers real impact. Gold Standard exists to encourage leaders to take bold climate action that delivers for nature and people with a clear framework and practical tools that turn commitments into real, measurable impact. We do this by empowering organisations to take actions and channel finance to where it matters most, to deliver measurable benefits for people, nature and the planet.

GOLD

Silver

At Biochar Club™, we use our patent-pending M-Kiln™ pyrolysis technology to deliver precision-controlled biochar to members at one of the lowest costs in the industry. Working with foresters, composters, growers, and disaster-management specialists, we provide affordable access to high-quality biochar. Members are rewarded for delivering long-term durable carbon storage and soil restoration at scale, verified and monitored in real-time by our integrated KilnOS™, which is auditable to all major international carbon registry standards.

SILVER

Fasken is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and ten offices on three continents. Clients rely on us for practical and innovative legal services. We provide results-driven strategies to solve the most complex business and litigation challenges.

SILVER

Bronze

Carboneers empowers smallholder farmers by providing investments, advanced technology, and education to transform agricultural biomass waste into biochar. This innovative process locks carbon in a stable, fossil-like form for over a thousand years. It bridges climate finance from the Global North to the Global South, enhancing farmers' incomes while making soils more resilient to climate change.

BRONZE

Charm Industrial is working to return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂. We design, build and operate a fleet of mobile fast pyrolyzers that convert ag and forest biomass residues into Charm Bio-oil and Charm Biochar for use in permanent carbon removal. At scale, Charm Bio-oil can be used to reduce iron ore into metallic iron to help decarbonize industrial emissions from steelmaking.

BRONZE

Kickstarter

Cambrian Carbon is redefining what’s possible in mining by turning waste into an asset. Our breakthrough mineral carbonation technology delivers scalable and verifiable carbon storage. Designed for seamless integration into existing systems, our reactor technology has demonstrable performance, with low energy requirements and significant CO2 storage capacity – capable of delivering megatons of CDR per site each year. Our reactor design is based on previous patented technologies, that are currently processing over a quarter of a billion tons of material in the mining industry annually.

Beyond credit generation and meaningful climate change mitigation, we deliver an integrated value stack: carbon credits and maximised resource value resulting in reduced tailings liability, circular economy use of material, enhanced metal recovery and benefits for closure.

We’re already partnered with mining companies globally, with an abundant supply of feedstock. Our technologies are engineered for mining but built for net-zero.

KICKSTARTER

Carbon Unbound Emissions Report 2025-2026

The following sections provides an overview of the carbon emissions associated with Carbon Unbound West Coast. We highlight the key sources of impact and outline practical steps we will take to reduce our event footprint. This is our effort to quantify emissions with reference to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, and we are working toward fuller alignment in future reporting cycles.

Aim and Priorities

We aim to reduce the carbon footprint of our conferences and move steadily towards Net Zero, while continuing to deliver high-quality events for our community.

Our Priorities

Understanding Our Emissions
We are improving how we collect and calculate emissions data so we can make more informed decisions and track real progress.

Reducing Travel Emissions
We are prioritising location-specific conferences to help further reduce long-distance travel.

Taking Practical Action
We are identifying realistic, achievable ways to reduce emissions across event planning, suppliers, venues, and logistics.

Building a Clear Pathway to Net Zero
Using what we learn from our emissions data, we are developing a long-term plan to reduce our impact event by event.

Scope & Boundaries

The organisational and operational boundaries for this report has been prepared with reference to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and Scope 3 guidance.

This report covers event related emissions for Carbon Unbound West Coast 2026 only. For this report, Unbound has defined the boundary using an event-operational approach.

Scope & Boundaries

The organisational and operational boundaries for this report has been prepared with reference to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and Scope 3 guidance.

This report covers event related emissions for Carbon Unbound West Coast 2026 only. For this report, Unbound has defined the boundary using an event-operational approach.

Organisational Boundaries

The event boundary includes emissions that occur:

- During the defined event dates

- From travel directly associated with attending the event (Attendee and staff travel to and from the event (flights, trains, cars))

- From goods and services procured specifically for event delivery

- Venue energy use during the event

- Catering, materials and supplies used specifically for the event

- Event-related transportation, e.g., equipment delivery, shuttles

- Accommodation for a 2-night stay for all the attendees.

Unbound does not own or control:

Venue buildings

Utility contracts

On-site infrastructure

Accommodations booked by attendees

Excluded from this boundary:

Corporate office operations

Employee commuting unrelated to event travel

Attendee activities unrelated to event participation

Digital platform and software emissions

Supply chain impacts beyond event-specific procurement

Reporting Period

Carbon Unbound West Coast: 22–23 January 2026, Vancouver, Canada.

This event-based inventory represents the first phase of Unbound’s climate reporting. Future annual reporting will expand the boundary to include:

Office/workspace energy use

Employee commuting

Business travel beyond events

Digital infrastructure and software usage

Broader supply chain categories

Heading

UN Sustainable development goal 7

Affordable and Clean Energy

Using energy efficient venues and equipment.

UN Sustainable development goal 9

Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Continue to promote sustainable industries, research, and innovations to facilitate sustainable development.

UN Sustainable development goal 11

Sustainable Cities & Communities

Hosting more local and regional events.

UN Sustainable development goal 12

Responsible Consumption & Production

Reducing waste at our events.

UN Sustainable development goal 13

Climate Action

Cutting our carbon footprint.

UN Sustainable development goal 17

Partnerships for the Goals

Working together for sustainability and foster more cross-border collaborations.

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Charm Industrial has signed a long-term offtake agreement with TD Bank for 44,000 tonnes of carbon removals

Why this matters: TD's commitment reinforces that durable CDR is moving from experimentation to long-term procurement, while demonstrating that the Canadian government's strong CDR initiatives are taking shape. Read more.

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