Portfolio Cohort D

Meet Ontoly: Where Energy Upgrades Create Carbon Credits and Cash Flow

Cindicates 20 August, 2025

Buildings are everywhere. They’re where we live, work, shop, and learn.

They’re also one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in cities and one of the biggest opportunities to change the math on climate change.

The problem? Even when property owners invest in big upgrades—swapping old boilers for electric heat pumps, improving insulation, or adding smart controls—the financial payoff stops at lower utility bills. There’s no extra revenue. No public recognition.

Ontoly is here to change that.

What Ontoly Does

Think of a building like a car. Over time, its systems get less efficient and burn more fuel than they should. In buildings, that wasted energy turns into carbon emissions.

A “retrofit” is like a tune-up for the building: upgrading heating, cooling, lighting, and insulation so it runs cleaner and uses less energy. The result? Fewer emissions.

Ontoly blog (1)

But here’s the catch: most owners can’t turn those emission cuts into actual income. That’s the gap Ontoly fills.

They:

Measure the emissions avoided through the retrofit using verified, science-based methods.
Turn those results into carbon credits—certificates proving a certain amount of emissions was avoided.
Sell those credits to banks, companies, and organizations looking to offset their own emissions.
Send revenue back to the building owner.

It’s a new income stream—one that rewards climate-friendly action.

The Founder’s Story

Founder Ashley Sarauer knows the carbon credit world inside and out. She’s helped draft climate policies for governments and shaped standards for one of the world’s leading carbon registries.

Ontoly blog (3)

But she kept seeing the same gap: buildings make up a massive share of emissions, yet the carbon credit market wasn’t built for them.

Retrofits were happening, emissions were being cut, but there was no trusted way to turn those results into financial assets. Ashley saw that fixing this could unlock a whole new market and speed up decarbonization in cities.

So she built Ontoly from the ground up: a platform designed for real estate, backed by global standards, and easy for owners to use.

The Impact

Instead of navigating outdated registries made for forestry projects or hiring expensive consultants, Ontoly gives owners a straight path from “we saved this much carbon” to “here’s a credit buyers want.” Their platform takes care of certification, connects owners to serious buyers, and even helps make the sale.

And it’s not just an idea on paper. They already have:

150+ buildings ready to go.
A pilot with big 5 financial institutions.
Active talks with the City of Vancouver.

Ashley and her team have already earned a spot in Foresight’s EarthTech 2050 Accelerator, a program known for picking Canada’s most promising cleantech companies. They’ve also been invited to speak at real estate sustainability forums, connecting with REIT executives and city planners who are shaping how buildings will meet climate goals.

And the ripple effects are real. It goes far beyond the balance sheet:

A non-profit housing provider can use carbon credit revenue to upgrade more units or keep rents stable.
A school district can put that money back into programs for students.

Why We Invested

We invested in Ontoly because we saw three things:

The market is huge, and barely anyone is serving it.
Ashley has rare credibility and grit, with experience that has already shaped the global carbon market.
The solution works, creating wins for owners, cities, and the planet.

It’s not every day you find a company that can cut emissions, create new income for property owners, and build trust in a market that desperately needs it.

That’s why Ontoly is in our portfolio—and why we can’t wait to see what’s next.