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Tristan Lecomte: "These are the companies that are most committed"

2020-09-24T10:17:42.875Z


FIGARO DEMAIN - The committed entrepreneur gives us his perspective on the actions carried out in favor of the climate and biodiversity.


A leading figure in fair trade with Alter Eco (from 1998 to 2011) and “insetting” since 2008 with Pur Projet, Tristan Lecomte is launching Second Life (recycling ocean plastic).

LE FIGARO.

- You encourage companies to do insetting with Pur Projet.

What is the benefit compared to carbon offsetting?

Tristan LECOMTE.

- The benefit goes far beyond that, because, with this approach, not only do companies offset the C02 emissions generated by their activity, but they also act at all levels of their own ecosystem.

For Accor, the Plant for the Planet project, which has encouraged its customers to reuse their towels since 2012, has generated 15 million energy savings, 50% of which have been allocated to planting 7 million trees, including olive trees that supply the group with olive oil.

More generally, insetting enhances the quality of their supplies with solutions that bring real economic and social benefits to their suppliers.

For example, Nespresso, which has understood that you do not make good coffee with degraded soils, has planted 3 million trees over the past seven years in partnership with producers in Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala.

In this context of crisis, how can we convince companies of which this is not the priority?

It's very simple.

Planting a tree costs $ 3.

Between the company and its various suppliers, this will generate $ 19 in profits per tree and per year.

Only 30 cents are linked to carbon sequestration.

So if a company invests outside its ecosystem, it gets back 30 cents, and if it invests in its own ecosystem, it will be $ 19.

The rest comes from income from wood, cut after twenty years, soil enrichment, rainwater collection (200 liters per year) by root or by interception of mist.

Companies must understand that, in the long term, investing for the climate pays them directly or indirectly.

Velux, which has just signed up with the WWF for “carbon neutrality for life”, is accused of “greenwashing”.

How do you react?

Offsetting the 5.6 million tonnes of CO2 emitted since its creation is enormous, as a commitment!

No company is going to continue to emit emissions unnecessarily by offsetting them.

One does not prevent the other, especially since it is a voluntary commitment.

Many prefer to do nothing rather than be accused of “greenwashing”.

Only about 1 in 10,000 companies does this.

How to go further?

If consumers vote for these brands, others will follow.

The companies are the most committed.

States are in a health emergency more than in solutions, and we are far from the commitments made during the Cop.

The ball is in the court of individuals, whose convictions are increasingly strong.

But you only have to see the reactions provoked by the idea of ​​a carbon tax for the general public in France to understand the reluctance.

We must invite everyone to change the world.

How to limit the impact of e-commerce, whose growth has not been denied since confinement?

Besides the impact of computer servers, the real issue is delivery.

Customers should be aware that when opting for fast delivery, this can result in a truck being driven only for their package, almost empty.

Otherwise, the truck will wait to be full to leave.

You launch Second Life.

What does this new project consist of?

We recover and recycle plastic lost in the oceans.

We started with Caudalie, and Clarins will join the program in 2021. Caudalie, who donates 1% of its turnover (or 2 million euros per year) to plant 7 million trees, finances collection and recycling 600 tonnes of plastic per year on islands in southern Thailand.

My goal is for companies to commit to the neutrality of their footprint in the future (carbon, plastic, biodiversity, etc.).

Didn't the coronavirus shed light on the fact that biodiversity had to be protected as much as the climate?

Zoonoses are linked to excess traffic in wild animals.

The more climatic and health crises there will be, the more we will understand that this must be changed.

80-90% of wildlife poaching comes from Asia, not to mention Africa and corruption.

We have already killed 50% of the world's biodiversity in forty years.

Human relations with biodiversity must be strongly regulated.

How do you live today?

I am married to a Thai woman.

We have developed the Pur Farm in Thailand, an agroecological experimentation farm on 3 hectares, to test and experiment what we are promoting.

We planted 1,200 trees in nine years and diversified the plantations with coffee, fruit trees, medicinal plants, which made it possible to multiply by 3 the income of the farm, previously dedicated to rice alone.

The soils are richer, because the leaves feed them as they fall, the plantations have brought back bees and birds.

We have created a rich and resilient permaculture ecosystem.

It is from here that I continue to manage Pur Projet, certified B Corp since 2016. We have 80 employees worldwide, half of whom are in Paris, eight offices (in Asia, Africa and South America) and more than 250 people providing the services locally.

What lessons have you learned from your experience with Alter Eco?

The fair trade market in France today needs new sources of growth, because it has been swallowed up by organic products.

The products should be both organic and fair trade.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-09-24

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