We are committed to preserving the environment and continuing to reduce the environmental footprint of our operations.
In addition to the measures we are taking to reduce our carbon footprint, we finance projects with positive social and environmental impacts in Vaud and outside Switzerland that offset the equivalent amount of GHG emissions associated with our operations. These projects, selected by our partner Swiss Climate, are certified to internationally recognized standards.
Farms generate vast quantities of manure, which, as it ferments, releases methane – a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. With an on-farm biogas plant of the type installed in this project, the fermentation process is carefully controlled. The resulting methane is collected and piped to a cogeneration plant to produce both heat and electricity. The 6.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity generated annually by this Vaud-based project – enough to power 1,700 households for a year – is fed into the grid. Around 4,400,000 kWh of residual heat per year is used in nearby factories and to sanitize food waste.
This project, which is ISO 14064-2 certified, saves around 3,500 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year. Because on-farm biogas plants provide a year-round source of renewable energy, they help reduce the dependency of Swiss farmers on imported fossil fuels while actively supporting sustainable development in the region.
In Cambodia, nearly two million rural households do not have access to safe drinking water. Due to poor water quality, approximately 2,000 people die each year from diarrhea. To reduce the incidence of disease, it is common practice to boil water on wood or charcoal fires before drinking it. The wood used for this purpose comes from the surrounding tropical forests, which are under threat, contributing to the already high rate of deforestation. Around 30% of Cambodia's forest area has been destroyed in the last 20 years.
This Gold Standard-certified project provides the local population with ceramic filters for water treatment, reducing the consumption of climate-damaging fuels and saving around 90,000 tons of CO2e per year. In addition, the project gives more than two million people in Cambodia access to clean and safe drinking water thanks to this alternative water treatment method. The project also creates jobs, particularly for women, in the local ceramic water filter production plant.
