Northern Trust Joins Project Ensemble to Test the Tokenization of Carbon Credits in a Cross-Border Setting

Under the experimental setting of the HKMA’s Project Ensemble, investors will have access to tokenized voluntary carbon credits traded in Hong Kong via The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem™

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) today announced it has joined Project Ensemble, a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) initiative, to help develop an experimental framework for cross-border trading of digital carbon credits.

The collaboration aims to explore how overseas investors can seamlessly access tokenized voluntary carbon credits traded in Hong Kong. The project will be supported by The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem™, a fully digital platform for the end-to-end lifecycle management of digital carbon credits which utilizes private ledger digital blockchain technology. The initiative will leverage The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem’s seamless settlement experience by recording, transferring and settling digital carbon credits as instructed in its role as designated custodian.

Project Ensemble, launched in 2024, is the HKMA’s initiative aimed at supporting and shaping the development of the tokenization ecosystem in Hong Kong. Central to this initiative is the Ensemble Sandbox, which is now facilitating the testing of tokenization use cases across different areas, including green and sustainable finance. In the Ensemble Sandbox, Northern Trust, along with other industry pioneers, will test a framework for the cross-border trade of tokenized carbon credits.

Northern Trust announced the formal launch of The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem in September 2024. The ecosystem connects institutional buyers with project developers focused on climate solutions to avoid, reduce, or remove greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Buyers can purchase digital carbon credits directly from project developers and retire these against their emissions footprint.

The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem can support a variety of verified carbon credits, including those from removal and avoidance, providing a unified and fully transparent ledger.

Justin Chapman, Group Head of Strategic Partnerships, Digital Assets and Financial Markets at Northern Trust, said: “Our participation in Project Ensemble represents a significant step in bridging digital asset innovation with sustainable finance on a global scale. By collaborating with industry peers and regulators in Hong Kong, we are exploring new ways to connect markets and facilitate cross-border carbon credit transactions. This initiative exemplifies Northern Trust’s strategy of partnering to drive innovation – leveraging our Carbon Ecosystem and digital asset expertise to help develop robust market infrastructure that can accelerate climate action and benefit investors worldwide.”

Angelo Calvitto, Head of Asia Pacific at Northern Trust, said: “The Asia-Pacific region’s financial and digital innovation is unmatched in vibrancy and pace, with Hong Kong cementing its position as a leading hub for sustainable finance and tokenization. Northern Trust’s participation in Project Ensemble underscores our commitment to being at the forefront of this regional transformation, connecting tokenized markets and building the cross-border sustainable finance infrastructure that will power the next generation of financial services. We are confident that this collaborative initiative will unlock new opportunities across APAC’s dynamic markets and help shape the future of finance.”

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with offices in 24 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of March 31, 2025, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$16.9 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.6 trillion. For more than 135 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on northerntrust.com. Follow us on Instagram @northerntrustcompany or Northern Trust on LinkedIn.

Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at https://www.northerntrust.com/terms-and-conditions.