Orange's €50 million Orange Nature carbon fund

Orange has announced the launch of a €50 million ($56.3m) carbon fund, which will finance reforestation and ecological restoration projects in partnership with Mirova (Natixis Investment Managers). This announcement is in line with the company's Net Zero Carbon by 2040 environmental strategy, and is part of an industry-wide push for greener operations.

According to the company, the fund will, both directly and indirectly, fund "various carbon sequestration projects" globally, including afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of natural ecosystems (mangroves or agroforestry projects).

Speaking about the fund, Elizabeth Tchoungui, executive director of CSR, diversity, and philanthropy at Orange, said: "Orange Nature is a key element of the Group's environmental policy. By 2040, most of our CO2 emissions will have been reduced thanks to the actions undertaken over the previous years. Orange Nature will enable us to complete the task of becoming Net Zero Carbon in 2040 through the use of nature-based solutions that will capture the residual incompressible emissions. Nature is our shared resource. It is up to each and every one of us to preserve it."

In the company's press release, it noted that it had already deployed several carbon sink projects, including pine tree reforestation in Spain and mangrove plantation in Senegal and participation in the Livelihoods Carbon Fund 3.

Marc Rennard, Chairman and CEO of Orange Digital Investment, outlined that Orange Nature is the "first fund created and entirely funded" by a "large European company that provides a return exclusively in the form of carbon credits," which it says supports its commitment to the climate. He added: "We are very proud of this ambitious and innovative project that is the result of a close partnership with our partner Mirova, an experienced and well-known player in the area of natural capital."