Althelia Ecosphere is an impact investment manager that delivers financial returns that are fully aligned with the conservation of nature and sustainable social development. They leverage expertise and capital to define pathways for innovative solutions to the climate and environmental challenges facing society today.
With a special emphasis on sustainable land-use, biodiversity and ecosystem services, they seek to leverage investment that simultaneously catalyses a range of positive impacts, including:
Their Mission
Althelia Ecosphere aligns the earth’s economy with its ecology by financing the transition towards sustainable land use, creating new environmental assets that reflect the value of natural capital. Their investments reduce deforestation, mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity and provide a fair and sustainable living to rural communities through activities that also offer investors competitive returns.
THEIR VISION
Natural capital - the ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources – is fundamental to the well-being and sustainable development of societies.
The annual value of services provided by nature is in the trillions of dollars. Too often, however, traditional financial capital is deployed in way that runs counter to the preservation of natural capital, damaging the long-term sustainability of the environment, as well as the human economy. Seen another way, it can be said that as people deplete the Earth’s natural capital ‘base’, simple economics tell them that the ‘dividend’ or ‘yield’ that it is able to render to society as a whole is also diminished. Alongside this, rising human populations and consumption patterns, are placing increasing pressure on our terrestrial, marine and atmospheric systems.
Althelia Ecosphere is mission driven to design and implement a new model that will reverse this trend- one that works for the benefit of present and future generations of life on Earth. This model aims to address the drivers of deforestation and unsustainable land-use. Through a focus on blended value investments that deliver the highest calibre social, environmental and economic performance, they aim to demonstrate that financial performance can be fully aligned with sound environmental stewardship and social development.
Their diverse portfolio of investments from Africa, South America and Asia will comprise of real assets (certified commodities and agricultural produce) and environmental services (verified emissions reductions and other ecosystem services).
As an expression of its commitment to define excellence in environmental, social and governance standards and safeguards and portfolio performance, Althelia has worked with investors and NGO partners to design a proprietary Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy and management system, incorporating the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2012) and the EIB Statement of Environmental and Social Principles and Standards (2009). Forest-based emissions reductions financed by the Fund will also be validated and verified to the Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, using the Gold Level of the Standards for projects delivering smallholder/community-led equitable benefits and exceptional biodiversity benefits, as appropriate.
INITIATIVES
