Investing by becoming the owner of trees, earning a return and doing good for the environment. That is the simple and ingenious idea behind the French startup EcoTree.
"Be invested in the wellbeing of the forest: it will take care of your returns!" Rarely has finance placed itself at the service of ecology as in the case of EcoTree, a French startup that invites companies and individuals to invest their savings by becoming the owners of trees. It is a simple, original and forward-thinking idea that makes it possible to achieve returns on investment of around 3 per cent (a significant figure in times of crisis and with interest rates still at historic lows).
The public bank Bpi France has decided to promote EcoTree on its website, explaining that "since its launch as a web platform in January 2016, the startup has managed to reconcile on the one hand the need to guarantee attractive returns, and on the other the need to contribute to sustainable development, a fundamental objective for anyone who wants to fight global warming."
The mechanism is at once simple and ingenious: the company purchases portions of forests and through its platform invites investors to provide the funds needed to plant new trees there, which are tended directly by the startup itself. As they grow, the trees increase in value while waiting to become large enough to be felled and their timber sold (before being replaced by other trees). It is during this phase — which lasts 20 or 30 years — that the capital gain is realised, averaging between 2 and 4 per cent per year.
In the meantime, "trees promote biodiversity, providing shelter, food and protection for numerous species of birds, insects, small mammals and fungi. They absorb CO2, help to shape the landscape and prevent its erosion, stabilise soil hydrology, produce oxygen and moderate climate variations," EcoTree notes, also promising its customers the ability to geolocate the trees they own.
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"Every year," the French company continues, "between 13 and 15 million hectares of forest disappear (equivalent to the area of a country like Belgium). We are committed to contributing to the conservation of French woodlands, reforesting wherever possible, avoiding monocultures and favouring natural regeneration." According to Bpi France, this is "a model that appeals above all to businesses, which often want to reduce their environmental impact and improve their image from a social responsibility perspective. Companies represent the main source of EcoTree's turnover, which last year reached 150,000 euros."
But it is also an interesting opportunity for private individuals, since — the French public bank continues — "those who choose this route can purchase more trees depending on the species or take out a monthly subscription" to gradually build up their investments. Moreover, if the amount does not exceed five thousand euros, or if 22 years pass from the first investment, no tax is payable on the gains either. To date, EcoTree has enabled the planting of 15,912 trees, ensuring the absorption of almost 248 tonnes of CO2: the equivalent of the carbon dioxide emitted by 495 flights between Paris and New York.
In Italy, too, there is a way to help both oneself and the environment, by offsetting one's lifestyle through LifeGate's Impatto Zero project. With it, it is possible to calculate, reduce and offset the environmental impact of the activities of individuals, events and products, contributing to the creation and protection of growing forests in developing countries or through energy efficiency and renewable energy production projects.