BlueOrchard is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and has established a steering group of employees from across the company to oversee the implementation of measures to further reduce energy consumption and resulting GHG emissions. It has offset non-avoidable emissions for 2019 by financing the Kariba forest protection project in Zimbabwe, an initiative selected by BlueOrchard employees in a company-wide vote, and will continue to purchase high quality carbon credits to offset unavoidable emissions.

At more than 700,000 hectares, Kariba REDD+ is the largest community forest conservation project in the country. In recent years, more than a third of Zimbabwe’s forests have been lost to agriculture, forest fires, and wild poaching. By teaching and supporting conservation farming, the project provides a more sustainable livelihood to local families, most of whom are small scale farmers.

BlueOrchard’s total emissions for 2019 were 215.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e), including operations in seven countries. The majority of the emissions (81.7%) were generated through indirect emissions consequential to BlueOrchard’s activities, including business travel, purchased goods, and services, employee commuting, and waste generated in operations. The largest contributor to total GHG footprint is business travel in connection with on-site due diligences, accounting for 62.2% of total emissions.

Philipp Müller, Chief Executive Officer at BlueOrchard, said: “Sustainability has long been at the core of the BlueOrchard investment approach and is something that we are very passionate about as an organization. This was the logical next step in ensuring sustainability at a corporate level as well as continuing to promote a climate-smart growth via the contribution of our investments to the Sustainable Development Goals.”

An executive summary of the report is available here.

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About BlueOrchard Finance Ltd

BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and a member of the Schroders group. The firm is dedicated to fostering inclusive and climate-smart growth in emerging and frontier markets, while providing attractive returns for investors. BlueOrchard was founded in 2001, by initiative of the UN, as the world’s first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments. The firm has built a distinct track record in offering premium impact investment solutions, including credit, private equity, and sustainable infrastructure. Being an expert in innovative blended finance mandates, the firm is a trusted partner of leading global development finance institutions. BlueOrchard has invested to date more than USD 6bn for sophisticated global private and public clients, enabling tangible social and environmental impact. For additional information, please visit: www.blueorchard.com.

For further information, please contact:

Kat Sutton, Head of Communications a.i.
+41 22 596 47 69
kathryn.sutton@blueorchard.com

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