Because it is a matter of urgency that we decarbonize our economy and support companies involved in disruptive innovation, and because environmental transformation calls for greater solidarity and a long-term perspective, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale has launched the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund through which it has committed €363 million in 2023 to its first four major environmental impact transformation projects.

Announced in January 2023 during the creation of the Societal Dividend, the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund has no financial return objective and will be used solely to finance projects that create environmental and social added value. It will focus on key areas of environmental planning: mobility, housing, agriculture, consumption, industry and biodiversity. By 2027, this fund will have an allocation of €1.5 billion.

A new area in which we use our mutualist approach to help speed up the transition to a more just and sustainable world. In view of the urgency involved, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale calls on all companies to take a leaf out of its book and set up a Societal Dividend, as MAIF and MGE have already done.

Launch of the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund as part of the Societal Dividend

In view of the scale of the climate crisis and the surge in inequality, the bulk of the Societal Dividend in 2023 was allocated to the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund. Without any financial return objective, this fund supports changes in production models, carbon sinks, improvements to infrastructures and responds to gaps in the market to promote a long-term vision.

Managed by Crédit Mutuel Impact, the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund invests in projects that generate a concrete and measurable positive impact on the environment and for the regions. The fund's portfolio will focus on six environmental planning themes: changes in housing techniques and practices, mobility, participation in the new low carbon industrial transformation, the natural resources economy (water in particular), the preservation of forests and oceans as carbon sinks. Its scope of investment is broad, encompassing disruptive tech companies and facilitating the scaling of emerging sectors and solidarity and societal projects that bring about transformation.

Headed up by Sabine Schimel, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Mutuel Impact, the team comprises 15 experts with a shared objective: bring about sustainable and positive impact for the regions through climate and solidarity projects that speed up transition.

An investment of €363 million in environmental and solidarity projects

Through the Societal Dividend, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale’s Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund will invest €363 million in transformational environmental and solidarity projects.

Because the sustainable management of forests is essential, the fund is investing in Groupement Forestier Vosges Nord, a forest located in Dambach in the Vosges du Nord region (Alsace / Moselle). This forest has resources for protection from industrial pressure and the consequences of global warming (forest fires, the proliferation of parasites, etc.). This investment is enabling 23,000 tons of carbon to be sequestered a year and the sustainability of a value added environmental management model. It is also a concrete means of offsetting part of the direct greenhouse gas emissions of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.

Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is a strong believer in the innovative ability of French companies. In an effort to decarbonize our energy, the mutualist group is supporting cleantech company Sweetch Energy (Rennes, Brittany), a renewable energy company specializing in osmotic power. This energy has the potential to cover up to 15% of the world's electricity needs and to avoid the emission of 4 gigatons of carbon per year. The very involvement of a French company in this sector merits recognition and support.

To reduce the impact of the waste sector, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is supporting the industrial scaling of a solution for the accelerated fossilization of non-recyclable waste imagined by the industrial start-up Néolithe (Angers, Pays de la Loire). A zero-carbon process, the accelerated fossilization of all non-recyclable mixed waste could reduce carbon emissions in France by 5-10%.

To support new housing practices, the Fund is investing in Colonies (Paris), a start-up platform proposing shared and individual housing. It purchases, renovates, optimizes and manages housing units with the aim of offering exceptional living spaces. It aims to establish an inventory of highly energy efficient accommodation for affordable rent.

“In a society with profound social, regional and environmental gaps, the time for transition and pragmatism is running out: companies must take urgent action to bring about the environmental and collective transformation that is needed. Without exception, they should set up a societal dividend without any financial objective for this very purpose.
The Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund is proof that this is possible: with €363 million invested in four months solely to achieve value added and sustainable environmental objectives. I would like to sincerely thank Daniel Baal, Eric Charpentier, Sabine Schimel and their teams for making this a success” says Nicolas Théry, Chairman of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.

“Achieving a sustainably positive impact on the regions will take time. We must take action now to speed up transition. It is for this reason that we decided to allocate a significant proportion of the Societal Dividend to this Fund. We have every confidence in its success in backing and assisting positive impact projects. This Fund brings a new approach where environmental performance is the benchmark. Our initial commitments which we are publishing today embody our desire to promote environmental and social value added rather than financial profitability. The Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund is a genuine beacon in supporting major advances.” adds Daniel Baal, Chief Executive Officer.