Case study
How Orms is investing in high-integrity carbon removals to put nature first
Architecture
SME
Restore
Carbon removals
Orms is an architecture practice based in central London, working across commercial, hospitality and residential projects at a range of scales. A certified B Corp, Orms calculates its emissions in-house to understand where its impact lies and - alongside reducing that impact - has invested in verified, durable carbon removals to help put nature first.
At a glance
About Orms
Orms is a central London architecture practice working on projects of varying scales, from commercial office buildings to hospitality and residential schemes. Certified as a B Corp in July 2024, the practice places sustainability at the heart of how it works, with a growing focus on circularity and the re-use of existing buildings.
Location
London, UK
Company size
110
Industry
Architecture
Services used
Carbon removals and tree planting
Overall climate journey
✓ Calculated carbon footprint (in-house)
✓ Funded verified carbon removals
✓ Funded tree planting
✓ Certified B Corp
The issue
Orms is realistic about where its impact lies as a business. Its operational emissions are modest compared to the embodied and in-use carbon of the buildings it designs. The practice measures what it can control: calculating its own emissions in-house to better understand its supply chain and make more considered choices about who it works with. Alongside this, Orms is an active member of industry bodies such as UKGBC, and has contributed to the development of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard - sharing knowledge across the sector to help the industry move forward at pace.
Beyond reducing its own emissions, Orms wanted to invest in projects that help scale up the carbon removal technologies the world needs to stay below 1.5°C - recognising that durable removals are a significant part of the net-zero story. The practice follows the Oxford Principles to guide its approach, ensuring transparency and alignment with industry best practice.
Critically, the practice also wanted to be sure it was doing the right thing in an area - offsetting and carbon removals - that attracts a great deal of press and can be difficult to navigate with confidence.
The challenges
Orms wanted to do the right thing but wasn't entirely sure where to start. The main challenge was credibility: the practice didn't want to purchase credits that might later prove worthless, and navigating a complex market with confidence isn't straightforward. It needed a partner it could trust to help it find high-quality, properly vetted projects without having to become a carbon market expert overnight.
The solution
Ecologi was a natural choice. A fellow B Corp that Orms already knew well - having used the platform to fund tree planting for a number of years - it shared the practice's values, which made moving into carbon removals together an easy next step.
Crucially, Ecologi simplified what can be a complex purchase and gave Orms the reassurance it was looking for: that it was investing in verified, robust and durable removals that would genuinely have an impact. The Oxford Principles gave the practice a clear framework for shifting gradually towards durable removals over time, and biochar fits naturally into that transition.
Seeing the impact first-hand
Rosie Bard, Associate Director at Orms, visited one of the projects - a UK biochar site - in person. Meeting the team running it and following the process from start to finish, she saw how carbon is locked into biochar and returned to the soil and to farming, along with the project's wider co-benefits and the further uses the material goes on to have. Seeing it first-hand made the investment tangible and confirmed it was, in her words, "an investment in the right place." For Orms, it was also proof that the project works with nature rather than against it - adding to the regenerative journey the industry needs to go on.
The results
Now in its second year of working with Ecologi, Orms has funded the planting of around 350 trees and the removal of around 24 tonnes of CO2 to date.
At first glance, these figures might look modest next to some of Ecologi's other clients, yet Orms is a smaller company than many of them, and these purchases cover the entirety of their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, plus part of Scope 3 - as Rosie notes, "for us, it's a really good start, and we feel confident that we're moving in the right direction." The site visit deepened that confidence and the team's understanding of the project's co-benefits, reinforcing that high-integrity, nature-based removals are where Orms wants to keep investing as it scales its commitment. Its impact is tracked transparently on its Ecologi profile.
“When we started, we assumed simply purchasing offsets was good enough. Now we understand the distinction between reductions and removals, and why durability matters. Visiting the biochar site made it tangible - you can study the data, but standing there and meeting the people running it is something else entirely. It's a solution that works with natural systems rather than against them, which aligns with how we think about design more broadly. We're still learning, but we feel confident we're moving in the right direction.”
Rosie Bard, Associate Director at Orms
