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Social, societal and environmental responsibility
5.3 Funds sponsored by Danone
DANONE
REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2015
203
Investments by Danone and co-investors
in the fund
As the fund's sponsor, Danone put together an initial investor group
in 2011 comprising the Crédit Agricole (Crédit Agricole CIB and
Delfinances – now Crédit Agricole SA), CDC Climat and Schneider
Electric Industries groups, which was then joined by La Poste,
Hermès International, Voyageurs du Monde, SAP, Firmenich and
Michelin. The fund now has 10 investors.
By inviting other investors to participate in the fund, which increases
the amounts invested in the fund, Danone is able to limit the risks
associated with each project (through diversification of the fund's
investments over a larger number of projects), achieve economies
of scale and benefit from complementary expertise and know-how.
As of December 31, 2015, all investors have pledged to invest a total
of €37.9 million in the Livelihoods Fund, €20.2 million of which has
already been paid to the fund. Of these amounts, Danone has com-
mitted to pay €13.8 million and has already disbursed €7.4 million
as of December 31, 2015.
The carbon credits generated by the projects developed by the
Livelihoods Fund are certified in accordance with the highest
market standards and allocated to investors in proportion to their
investment. Investors may use these credits to offset their carbon
emissions or sell them on the market.
Investments made by the fund
As of December 31, 2015, the Livelihoods Fundmanaged eight projects,
including four that had been initiated by Danone and transferred to
the fund at the time of its creation.
The projects are described hereafter:
•
mangrove plantations in Senegal. Thanks to thework of Océanium,
a local NGO, 350 villages in Casamance and Sine Saloum have
restored 7,920 hectares of mangroves, thereby contributing to
the return of food resources to their ecosystem (fish, shellfish)
and developing activities that improve living conditions in these
villages;
•
mangrove plantations in India. Working with the Indian NGO
Nature Environment & Wildlife Society (NEWS), villagers in the
Ganges delta replanted 5,500 hectares of mangroves by the end
of the first quarter of 2014. In this region of India, the replanting
of mangroves protects dykes against hurricanes and rising water
and provides food resources in the form of fish;
•
mangrove plantations in Indonesia. Led by Yagasu Aceh, a local
NGO, coastal villagers are working to restore 5,000 hectares on
the island of Sumatra, with a very active initiative to help local
communities develop mangrove-based activities (aquaculture,
batik dyes);
•
agroforestry in India. With support from the Naandi Foundation,
the Adivasi tribal communities of the Araku valley have planted
3 million fruit trees, coffee plants and timber trees based on
agroforestry models;
•
rural energy and community reforestation in Kenya. With support
from ClimatePal and in cooperation with Ecoact, the “Hifadhi”
project seeks to manufacture and distribute 60,000 efficient
artisanal furnaces that reduce the consumption of wood, the
only source of fuel in African rural areas. Some 300,000 people
in the Embu region are expected to benefit from this initiative,
which significantly reduces female labor, the pressure on forests
and the health impacts on the population;
•
agroforestry in Guatemala. With support from the local NGO
Fundaeco and the Guatemalan government, this project is in-
tended to preserve the biodiversity of the Cerro San Gil mountain
by enabling farm families living in the foothills of the mountain
to live decently thanks to agroforestry. Some 4,000 hectares of
trees and plants of various varieties are expected to be planted;
•
rural energy and community reforestation in Burkina Faso. With
support from the Tiipaalga NGO, the “Livelihoods-Tiipaalga” proj-
ect aims to manufacture and distribute 30,000 efficient artisanal
furnaces that reduce the consumption of wood, the only source
of fuel in African rural areas. Some 150,000 people in Bam and
Loroum provinces are expected to benefit from this initiative,
which significantly reduces female labor, the pressure on forests
and the impact on the health of the populations;
•
rural energy and health in Peru. With support from the local
NGO Instituto Trabaja y Familia (ITYF), 30,000 improved cast-iron
furnaces with built-in chimneys will be distributed to impover-
ished families in the Peruvian Andes along with hygiene kits. This
equipment will not only allow the recipient households to cook
and heat their homes while significantly reducing their wood
consumption, but will also improve women's health by reducing
fumes and burns and children's nutrition by providing sufficient
amounts of boiled water.
Since the end of 2015, a ninth project has also been approved with
operations beginning in 2016:
•
agroforestry and milk production in Kenya. With support from
the local VI Agroforestry NGO, industrial partner Brookside and
government groups, the aim of this project – one of the largest
financed by the Livelihoods Fund – close to Lake Victoria is to
significantly improve the livelihoods of 30,000 small farmers
by intensifying agriculture that respects natural resources
(Sustainable Agricultural Landscape Management – SALM) and
developingmilk production, while also protecting water resources
and promoting positive social impacts, such as female labor.
Delivery of carbon credits
Since 2014, the Livelihoods Fund has delivered carbon credits to
investors after verification of the projects in question by independent
auditors. In 2015, three projects (News in India, Yagasu in Indonesia
and Hifadhi in Kenya) generated a total of 297,536 carbon credits,
which will be delivered to the fund and distributed to investors in
early 2016. As part of this distribution, Danone received 108,250
carbon credits.