Crypto Tech Firm BlockFills to Offer ESG Credits to Miners

Crypto financial-services and technology firm BlockFills is working with Isla Verde Capital to offer crypto miners environmental credits to help them offset their carbon emissions.

Crypto miners, and those on the Bitcoin network in particular, have been facing severe criticism for their carbon footprint. The industry consumes as much energy as some small countries, not all of which is renewable, which has irked environmentalists and authorities alike.

Through the partnership with Isla Verde, which specializes in such offerings, BlockFills will sell carbon emissions offsets and renewable energy credits (REC) and other carbon accounting instruments to miners, according to a Tuesday press release. RECs are certificates that represent the production of electricity from renewable sources.

"Miners are seeking sustainable solutions to their challenges in the energy industry, while also fighting public scrutiny over their consumption and carbon footprint,” Neil Van Huis, a partner and director at BlockFills, said in the press release.

Isla Verde co-Chief Investment Officer Ronnie Virissimo said that "it is becoming more imperative that all groups, particularly those on the blockchain, are proactive about reporting on and lowering their carbon footprint, with greater potential for regulation and rules to be put in place."

Elliot David, head of strategy and partnerships at Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol, a company that is developing an on-chain product for miners looking to certify their energy use, said that "unless a miner is holding the RECs attributed to their power consumption, they can't technically claim that they're using clean energy. As a result, we've seen miners take a wide range of existing approaches" from nothing at all to buying high-quality RECs.

Last week, the Biden administration's office for technology and science policy released a report that called on standards to be set for the industry so that its impact on the environment is limited.

Read more: White House Crypto Mining Report Draws Praise From Advocates and Critics Alike

UPDATE (Sept. 13, 2022 7:45 p.m. UTC): Adds quote from David.