L’Oréal Fund Accelerates Biodiversity Preservation With Three New Investments
L’Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics company, has announced three new recipients of its Fund for Nature Regeneration (LFNR).
The LFNR was created in 2020 and is a €50 million fund for impact investment. The fund is managed by Mirova Natural Capital, the asset management company affiliated to Natixis Investment Managers and dedicated to sustainable investment.
NetZero, ReforesTerra and Mangroves.Now were chosen for investment due to their innovative approaches to carbon capture in soils, reforestation and mangrove restoration, and for their potential to have a far-reaching, positive impact on the environment and local communities.
The latest trio of projects was selected following due diligence and based on key criteria including business model readiness, economic viability, and positive environmental and social impacts.
Mangroves.Now will facilitate community-based mangrove restoration projects in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. This region has been the most affected by mangrove deforestation in the last thirty years. Mangroves.Now will provide access to financing for small-scale projects with local NGOs. The aim is to restore approximately 20,000 hectares of previously degraded land and provide equitable benefit-sharing with local communities.
NetZero is a French climate venture operating in tropical areas such as Cameroon and Brazil, that specializes in long-term carbon removal from the atmosphere by turning agricultural residues into biochar. Biochar is a stable, non-polluting carbon that can be added to improve degraded soil. It is recognized by the IPCC as a viable solution with the potential to remove one-to-two billion tons of CO2 emissions from the planet’s atmosphere each year.
ReforesTerra aims to restore 2,000 hectares of land degraded by pastures – one of the greatest challenges facing the Amazon. The project will engage with smallholder farmers to directly plant new trees and create a favorable environment for natural regeneration in the lower Rio Jamari basin of Rondônia, covering 75 per cent of the project area. The remaining 25 per cent will benefit from strategic planting in small clusters that attracts wildlife to naturally propagate new forests. This project is one of the largest Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR) projects in Brazil.
“At L’Oréal Groupe, our environmental duty goes beyond our business. It is our responsibility to address today’s most pressing challenges, like the erosion of biodiversity and its social and ecological impact,” said Rachel Barré, Environmental Leadership Director, L’Oréal Groupe.
“The L’Oréal Fund for Nature Regeneration is an important vehicle in our efforts towards a more sustainable future for all. With the new projects signed, our aim is to help restore the planet’s biodiversity and preserve its abundant ecosystems.”
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