The Finding

Our research across 100 climate-focused public companies reveals a 2.4 million-fold difference in climate efficiency. The most efficient company (EUR 0.06 per tonne) avoids over two million times more CO₂e per euro of capital than the least efficient ( EUR 144,000 per tonne).

This is not a rounding error. Even within the same sector, efficiency gaps are enormous:
- Electric vehicles: 18× difference (BYD vs. Tesla)
- Solar PV: 119× difference (JinkoSolar vs. First Solar)
- Interquartile range: 20× across all 100 companies

The implication: where you allocate climate capital matters far more than how much you allocate.

What is CER?

CER = Market Capitalization (EUR) ÷ Lifetime CO₂e Avoided (tonnes)

A company with a CER of EUR 10/tonne requires EUR 10 of capital for every tonne of CO₂e its products help avoid.

Lower CER = greater climate efficiency.

Tier EUR per Tonne Interpretation
1: Ultra-low < EUR 1/t Below any carbon price ever observed
2: Low EUR 1–32/t Below EU ETS historical average
3: Medium EUR 32–316/t Within policy-credible carbon prices
4: High EUR 316–10,000/t Exceeds plausible carbon prices
5: Prohibitive > EUR 10,000/t Economically unviable

Read the full CER methodology →

The Research

CER was developed by Jay Pazos (Chicago Booth MBA, ex-McKinsey) and is currently under review at the Financial Analysts Journal. The methodology covers 100+ companies across 30 sectors using lifecycle carbon footprint data from ICCT, IEA, and IPCC.

Read the working paper on SSRN

About IMPACTA.io

IMPACTA is a climate finance research firm developing tools to measure the cost-effectiveness of impact investments. Our CER database covers public companies across solar, EV, wind, batteries, hydrogen, green steel, and 24 additional sectors.

Learn more about IMPACTA

Research Themes (Brief Preview)

Our methodology extends beyond climate. Future research will quantify impact efficiency across:

- Access to Healthcare
- Education and Skills Development
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Water and Sanitation
- Affordable Housing
- Food Security

Each theme applies the same principle: make the unmeasurable measurable, then let the numbers guide capital toward maximum impact.