Iron Software's First Environmental Initiative in South East Asia: Funding 50 Biochar Kilns to Clear the Skies

Why Biochar? Why Now?

If you've ever visited Chiang Mai between February and April, you know what "burning season" means. Every year, agricultural burning blankets northern Thailand in hazardous smoke, turning blue skies into a grey haze and sending air quality readings through the roof.

This isn't an abstract issue for us. Our 50-person engineering hub calls Chiang Mai home. These are the developers building IronPDF, IronOCR, IronXL, and the rest of our .NET library suite. When the AQI spikes, it affects our team, their families, and the entire community we've become part of in the last 10 years.

Biochar kilns offer a clever solution. Instead of burning crop residue in open fields (the main source of the smoke), farmers can convert it into biochar, a charcoal-like material that improves soil health and locks away carbon for centuries. It's a win for air quality, a win for farmers who gain a sustainable income source, and a win for the climate.

With the burning season starting next month, we're aiming to get these kilns deployed in time to make a real difference this year.

Chiang Mai: More Than Just an Office Location

Chiang Mai has become one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant tech hubs, sometimes called a "mini Silicon Valley." The combination of excellent internet infrastructure, a thriving developer community, and high quality of life has attracted software companies and digital nomads from around the world.

For us, it's been instrumental to our growth. But being part of a community means investing in it, not just benefiting from it.

What Our Team Has to Say

Cameron Rimington, CEO:

"What drew us to Warm Heart Worldwide is how elegantly their approach works, one initiative that tackles air pollution, creates income for farming families, and pulls carbon out of the atmosphere. That's the kind of thoughtful, layered problem-solving we try to bring to our own software, and we're proud to support it."

Jacob Mellor, CTO:

"Chiang Mai is an incredible place to live and work, but the burning season impacts people’s lives. Iron Software has invested in air filtration, AQI monitoring, and flexible schedules to protect our team but we wanted to do more than just look after ourselves. Our engineers have put down roots here. Their kids go to local schools, their neighbours are farmers. Biochar offers a real opportunity to support those neighbours while cleaning up the air we all share."

Building on Our Commitment

This initiative adds to the $50,000+ Iron Software have already donated to ocean conservation efforts. Environmental responsibility will continue to be a core part of who we are as a company.

Here's to cleaner air in Chiang Mai.

Discover how Iron Software is protecting oceans and waterways.