On the occasion of the Copenhagen Summit, Cortal Consors and B* capital, subsidiaries of BNP Paribas, announced the launch of this year’s “Impact Investing” initiative.

This program, now in its fourth consecutive year, provides funding for environmental projects that offset CO2 emissions. The principle is simple: customers benefit from reduced subscription fees to a selection of funds chosen on the basis of environmental and sustainable development criteria. These subscription fees are donated in their entirety to the GoodPlanet Foundation for its CarbonAction program.

This project provides financing for fertilizing agricultural land in India by ploughing charcoal into the soil. What does this mean exactly?

This is an innovative technology for sequestering carbon and improving soil fertility by ploughing charcoal into the soil. The high carbon content of biochar (charcoal produced from biomass) means that when it is ploughed into even extremely degraded soil, it helps the soil to retain its mineral content, nutrients and water, thus becoming an ideal and sustainable living environment for the micro-organisms responsible for the increase in soil fertility.

In some parts of rural India, degradation of the soil leads to a sharp decline in agricultural productivity and thus to an increase in poverty and food insecurity for the population. It is essential to respond quickly to this situation. As a direct result of this project, which can be implemented easily in regions that are heavily affected by rural poverty, the economic and social benefits are quickly becoming apparent, above and beyond the environmental benefits.

A simple, sustainable and effective solution!