Nori carbon removal marketplace
Nori carbon removal marketplace
A marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of the world's first carbon removal credit.
A marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of the world's first carbon removal credit.
Marketplace
Service design
Stakeholder interviews
User research
Prototyping
UX/UI
Usability testing
Overview
Overview
As Nori’s principal product designer, I was tasked with concepting the experience of using a two-sided marketplace that would connect buyers and sellers of carbon removal credits (CRCs).
As Nori’s principal product designer, I was tasked with concepting the experience of using a two-sided marketplace that would connect buyers and sellers of carbon removal credits (CRCs).
Team
Team
I worked as part of a five person product team including three engineers and a head of product. The product team interfaced directly with Nori's eight original founders. As the principal product designer, I worked directly under Nori's Head of Product and was responsible for all UX/UI, requirements gathering, user interviews, prototyping and testing.
I worked as part of a five person product team including three engineers and a head of product. The product team interfaced directly with Nori's eight original founders. As the principal product designer, I worked directly under Nori's Head of Product and was responsible for all UX/UI, requirements gathering, user interviews, prototyping and testing.
The Nori Carbon Removal Tonne (NRT) was the world’s first carbon removal credit (CRC) which represented 1 tonne of carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere. Nori CRCs were very different from the traditional carbon offsetting initiatives that came before. The key difference being that a purchased CRC was paying for actual carbon removal, not the reduction of emissions which was the traditional approach for companies working towards a carbon neutral status.
Nori’s strategy was to develop distinct methodologies that would create an entirely new kind of marketplace where different industries could actually make money from the act of removing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.
The first methodology was soil-carbon sequestration, which involved incentivizing farmers to adopt agriculture practices that would keep more carbon stored in farming soil.
Supplier enrollment
Nori wasn't just a market for buying and selling CRCs, it was a full-service platform that standardized relationships between buyers, suppliers, and verifiers of this new carbon removal commodity.
Nori wasn't just a market for buying and selling CRCs, it was a full-service platform that standardized relationships between buyers, suppliers, and verifiers of this new carbon removal commodity.
Getting suppliers on board
Pitching a new cash crop that would outweigh the cost of changing farming practices.
While many farmers would like to change their farming practices and become better stewards of the land, the reality is that a farmer's bottom line comes first. There are always additional expenses when switching land management practices and the uncertainty of doing something they've never done before.
While many farmers would like to change their farming practices and become better stewards of the land, the reality is that a farmer's bottom line comes first. There are always additional expenses when switching land management practices and the uncertainty of doing something they've never done before.
If Nori was going to convince farmers to sign up as suppliers of CRCs, they needed to provide an estimation for the farmer of their return on investment.
Nori strategically partnered with COMET Farm, a USDA-backed greenhouse gas assessment tool that had already enrolled farmers interested in emissions reductions. This allowed Nori to run CRC estimation reports via an API using the farmers’ field boundaries and proposed practice changes.
It was my job to design an onboarding workflow for prospective suppliers that would quickly help farmers see the upside potential of becoming a Nori supplier while also walking them through the necessary steps of enrolling in the Nori marketplace
Project setup
Goal: Import records and get an estimate as fast as possible.
Account registration
Goal: Determine farmers ownership status and finalize account creation.
CRC scoring
Goal: Explain how payouts work and explain their rating that determines initial payout and payout scheduling.
Verify the project
Verify the project for listing
Goal: Make it easy to find someone to verify the project for listing.
Roadblock
After testing the enrollment workflow with a few prospective suppliers, it was obvious that the CRC score was confusing and farmers also felt judged by the rating system
Roadblock
After testing the enrollment workflow with a few prospective suppliers, it was obvious that the CRC score was confusing and farmers also felt judged by the rating system
Roadblock
After testing the enrollment workflow with a few prospective suppliers, it was obvious that the CRC score was confusing and farmers also felt judged by the rating system
The current design was not doing a good job explaining two things:
The current design was not doing a good job explaining two things:
The quantification process dealt with modeling future scenarios and was not an exact measurement, which meant even a farmer with pristine records could never achieve a score of 100% after initial enrollment.
The rating itself was not a reduction from the actual payout. It was a specific payment plan that accounted for this specific carbon removal method's uncertainty rating.
Learning this, I quickly concepted a series of redesign options.
Learning this, I quickly concepted a series of redesign options.
Percentage grade
The original design but with an added illustration of how the CRC score would impact token access.
Percentage grade
The original design but with an added illustration of how the CRC score would impact token access.
Percentage grade
The original design but with an added illustration of how the CRC score would impact token access.
Progression level
Removes the concept of a grade altogether and instead focuses the farmer’s attention on what it would take to improve their level.
Progression level
Removes the concept of a grade altogether and instead focuses the farmer’s attention on what it would take to improve their level.
Progression level
Removes the concept of a grade altogether and instead focuses the farmer’s attention on what it would take to improve their level.
Awards trophy
Sticking with something that feels like a quality rating but shifting perspective to a smaller subset where 80% or more of farmers would achieve at least silver.
Awards trophy
Sticking with something that feels like a quality rating but shifting perspective to a smaller subset where 80% or more of farmers would achieve at least silver.
Awards trophy
Sticking with something that feels like a quality rating but shifting perspective to a smaller subset where 80% or more of farmers would achieve at least silver.
Tier rating
Another quality rating, but leaning into the idea that most farmers will be in the middle bucket and emphasizing that’s where they should expect to be.
Tier rating
Another quality rating, but leaning into the idea that most farmers will be in the middle bucket and emphasizing that’s where they should expect to be.
Tier rating
Another quality rating, but leaning into the idea that most farmers will be in the middle bucket and emphasizing that’s where they should expect to be.
Solution
I did a series quick follow up calls with the farmers who gave feedback on the CRC score and the majority preferred option 4, the tiered rating design. Suppliers especially called out the addition of “80% of suppliers start here” went a long way to helping them feel less judged.
Data entry
Nori’s strategic approach to enroll farmers with data already in COMET Farm was the right call for getting this methodology off the ground as quickly as possible. However, it did present an obvious limiting factor for scalability.
Nori’s strategic approach to enroll farmers with data already in COMET Farm was the right call for getting this methodology off the ground as quickly as possible. However, it did present an obvious limiting factor for scalability.
COMET Farm's data scientists whom I had weekly calls with were the first to admit that data entry for farmers on their platform was time-intensive and included a lot of extra inputs that wouldn't impact Nori's CRC estimations. Nori was relying on COMET Farm for an easy way to enroll farmers, but the COMET Farm team was primarily focused primarily on improving their modeling accuracy, not their UX/UI for data entry.
COMET Farm's data scientists whom I had weekly calls with were the first to admit that data entry for farmers on their platform was time-intensive and included a lot of extra inputs that wouldn't impact Nori's CRC estimations. Nori was relying on COMET Farm for an easy way to enroll farmers, but the COMET Farm team was primarily focused primarily on improving their modeling accuracy, not their UX/UI for data entry.
I was tasked with designing an MVP data entry interface that Nori could use with farmers outside the COMET Farm network that would still map to all their required inputs and run the COMET Farm model.
I was tasked with designing an MVP data entry interface that Nori could use with farmers outside the COMET Farm network that would still map to all their required inputs and run the COMET Farm model.
I set to work coming up with an MVP data entry tool that would allow Nori to provide a lightweight version of COMET Farm's data prompts that focused only on inputs needed for modeling CRC output.
I set to work coming up with an MVP data entry tool that would allow Nori to provide a lightweight version of COMET Farm's data prompts that focused only on inputs needed for modeling CRC output.
Since I had some insider knowledge on what specific inputs mattered most for COMET Farm's model, I was able to trim the required data down to the bone, though admittedly it was still a lot of data. I set the following design principles for my work.
Since I had some insider knowledge on what specific inputs mattered most for COMET Farm's model, I was able to trim the required data down to the bone, though admittedly it was still a lot of data. I set the following design principles for my work.
Expedite data entry as much as possible.
Provide a high level summary of activities that is easy for farmers and verifiers to look at together.
My concept was directly influenced by modern spreadsheet tools like Smartsheet and Airtable. Many farmers and verifiers use tools like Excel and Google Sheets for storing records, so there was an existing mental model we could leverage in our design that would also allow easy copy/pasting of records.
My concept was directly influenced by modern spreadsheet tools like Smartsheet and Airtable. Many farmers and verifiers use tools like Excel and Google Sheets for storing records, so there was an existing mental model we could leverage in our design that would also allow easy copy/pasting of records.
By allowing both multi-cell editing and copy/pasting of not just a single activity, but an entire year, I was able to dramatically speed up the data entry process without compromising CRC output integrity.
By allowing both multi-cell editing and copy/pasting of not just a single activity, but an entire year, I was able to dramatically speed up the data entry process without compromising CRC output integrity.
Verification
While Nori was responsible for maintaining the marketplace, we could not be involved in the verification process for farmer projects if the marketplace was going to appear legitimate and unbiased. That being said, we still needed to develop some kind of standard that would ensure the same level of integrity for all Nori suppliers.
While Nori was responsible for maintaining the marketplace, we could not be involved in the verification process for farmer projects if the marketplace was going to appear legitimate and unbiased. That being said, we still needed to develop some kind of standard that would ensure the same level of integrity for all Nori suppliers.
The purpose of supplier project verification was not just for initial listing, but also for releasing more of a supplier's locked tokens after passing an annual inspection. This relationship between market suppliers and verifiers was already a standard in existing carbon markets, so thankfully there was already a network of professionals to assist Nori in defining its verification protocols.
The purpose of supplier project verification was not just for initial listing, but also for releasing more of a supplier's locked tokens after passing an annual inspection. This relationship between market suppliers and verifiers was already a standard in existing carbon markets, so thankfully there was already a network of professionals to assist Nori in defining its verification protocols.
I participated in weekly chats with Astra Global Environmental Solutions to better understand how traditional carbon project verification worked and how Nori's unique requirements might change a verifier's approach to the work.
I participated in weekly chats with Astra Global Environmental Solutions to better understand how traditional carbon project verification worked and how Nori's unique requirements might change a verifier's approach to the work.
I was surprised to learn that there is no standard way that all carbon project verifiers conduct their inspections and that verification itself in the traditional markets was subject to the project's creator, aka the buyer. This was a massive conflict of interest and not something Nori's leadership wanted to perpetuate.
I was surprised to learn that there is no standard way that all carbon project verifiers conduct their inspections and that verification itself in the traditional markets was subject to the project's creator, aka the buyer. This was a massive conflict of interest and not something Nori's leadership wanted to perpetuate.
On these calls I quickly learned that their is no standard way that all carbon project verifiers work, and that verification in the traditional markets was subject to the project's creator, aka the buyer. This was a massive conflict of interest and not something Nori's leadership wanted to perpetuate so we needed a fresh take on verification for Nori projects.
Standardizing verification without introducing bias
Nori needed to set clear boundaries without being seen as bad actors and undermine the integrity of Nori CRCs.
After many calls with the experts at Astra Global we started to focus our protocol around the general approach outlined by the International Organization for Standardization, which is a global organization that defines standards for trusted goods and services. This decision was made after talking with a few other carbon market verifiers who all claimed that their base inspection guidelines and reporting was an extension of the guidelines presented by ISO.
After many calls with the experts at Astra Global we started to focus our protocol around the general approach outlined by the International Organization for Standardization, which is a global organization that defines standards for trusted goods and services. This decision was made after talking with a few other carbon market verifiers who all claimed that their base inspection guidelines and reporting was an extension of the guidelines presented by ISO.
The goal was to come up with a very high-level set of guidelines based on these international standards that would allow verifiers to conduct their work largely uninfluenced by Nori while making sure there was a shared perspective and buy-in from both Nori and Verifiers on exactly what the outcome of verification should look like.
The goal was to come up with a very high-level set of guidelines based on these international standards that would allow verifiers to conduct their work largely uninfluenced by Nori while making sure there was a shared perspective and buy-in from both Nori and Verifiers on exactly what the outcome of verification should look like.
Working with Astra Global, we co-authored a simple, single page form where a verifier’s rating could be one of the following:
Approved: Initial tokens released + annual % unlocked
Approved with comments: Minor corrections or missing details would be forgiven one time only. No release of new tokens until issues are resolved.
Rejected: No new tokens would be released and any existing CRC listings would be pulled from the market. Buyers of this suppliers CRCs would be reimbursed directly by Nori.
Working with Astra Global, we co-authored a simple, single page form where a verifier’s rating could be one of the following:
Approved: Initial tokens released + annual % unlocked
Approved with comments: Minor corrections or missing details would be forgiven one time only. No release of new tokens until issues are resolved.
Rejected: No new tokens would be released and any existing CRC listings would be pulled from the market. Buyers of this suppliers CRCs would be reimbursed directly by Nori.
Working with Astra Global, we co-authored a simple single page form where a verifier’s rating could be one of the following:
Approved: Initial tokens released or annual percentage of tokens unlocked.
Approved with comments: Minor corrections or missing details would be forgiven one time only.
Rejected: No new tokens would be released and any existing CRC listings would be pulled.
Buyers
Now we arrive at the last piece of the puzzle, the buyer's experience. Nori leadership needed to design a marketplace where the integrity of the CRC was paramount.
Now we arrive at the last piece of the puzzle, the buyer's experience. Nori leadership needed to design a marketplace where the integrity of the CRC was paramount.
Now we arrive at the last piece of the puzzle, they buyer's experience. Nori needed a marketplace where the integrity of the CRC was paramount, not only the long term success of Nori, but carbon removal markets as a whole.
One of Nori's founders was an expert in carbon markets and had actually helped author carbon reduction protocols dating back to the mid 90s. Over the course of several meetings, she outlined to me the basic structure of what she called a Forwards Contract Auction, which is essentially a double blind auction where buyers and sellers are matched anonymously to determine a clearing price.
One of Nori's founders was an expert in carbon markets and had actually helped author carbon reduction protocols dating back to the mid 90s. Over the course of several meetings, she outlined to me the basic structure of what she called a Forwards Contract Auction, which is essentially a double blind auction where buyers and sellers are matched anonymously to determine a clearing price.
One of Nori's founders was an expert in carbon markets and had actually helped author carbon reduction protocols dating back to the mid 90s. Over the course of several meetings she outlined to me the basic structure of what she called a Forwards Contract Auction, which is essentially a double blind auction where buyers and sellers are matched based anonymously to determine a sale price.
The matching process is actually really simple. For a scheduled auction, farmers opt in to listing as many of their available CRCs as they like while buyers place bids for how many CRCs they wish to purchase and at what price. Listing prices are ordered from lowest to highest while buyer bids are ordered highest to lowest.
The matching process is actually really simple. For a scheduled auction, farmers opt in to listing as many of their available CRCs as they like while buyers place bids for how many CRCs they wish to purchase and at what price. Listing prices are ordered from lowest to highest while buyer bids are ordered highest to lowest.
The lowest buyer bid price that is at or above a farmer's CRC list price determines the clearing price. CRCs are not sold if the supplier wanted more money per CRC than the clearing price and buyers who wanted to pay less than the clearing price won't get any CRCs.
The lowest buyer bid price that is at or above a farmer's CRC list price determines the clearing price. CRCs are not sold if the supplier wanted more money per CRC than the clearing price and buyers who wanted to pay less than the clearing price won't get any CRCs.
After the auction time closes, we look for a buyer's bid that is at or above a farmer's list price. If we find one then have found our match and that price is locked in as the clearing price. CRCs are not sold if the supplier wanted more money per CRC than the clearing price and buyers who wanted to pay less than the clearing price won't get any CRCs.
In the event there are fewer CRCs to sell at the clearing price than the actual demand, priority goes to buyers with the highest bid price while only having to pay at the lower clearing price. The clearing price then becomes public record along with the total matches. This affords both farmers and buyers a way to observe the pricing trend over time and decide when it's best for them to participate in an auction.
In the event there are fewer CRCs to sell at the clearing price than the actual demand, priority goes to buyers with the highest bid price while only having to pay at the lower clearing price. The clearing price then becomes public record along with the total matches. This affords both farmers and buyers a way to observe the pricing trend over time and decide when it's best for them to participate in an auction.
In the event there are fewer CRCs to sell at the clearing price than the actual demand for CRCs, priority goes to buyers with the highest bid price while they still only pay the clearing price. The clearing price then becomes public record along with the total matches so both farmers and buyers can observe the trend over time and decide when it's best for them to participate in an auction. The mechanism that gives buying preference to higher bidders slowly pushes the price up each auction as long as CRCs are sold out.
Impact
Impact
Two years after joining the company, Nori was able to secure $7 million in series A funding. The Nori platform was off and running in no small part to the work I put into its original design.
Two years after joining the company, Nori was able to secure $7 million in series A funding. The Nori platform was off and running in no small part to the work I put into its original design.
Two years after joining the company, Nori was able to secure $7 million in funding. The Nori platform was off and running in no small part to the work I put into it’s original design.
Total payout to farmers
$6.5 million
Enrolled acres
100,000+
Total payout to farmers
$6.5 million
Enrolled acres
100,000+
Total payout to farmers
$6.5 million
Enrolled acres
100,000+
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