How Triodos Groenfonds made a difference in 2020

Organic agriculture recognises the relationship between our environment, our health and the food we eat. As well as maintaining high animal welfare standards, it avoids using pesticides and chemical fertilisers and helps to revitalise the earth.

What's more, organic farming aims to apply circular thinking, creating circular solutions that regionally close material loops and efficiently use earth’s resources.

We strongly believe that agriculture must work with nature rather than against it. At the same time, a balanced and resilient food system should promote healthy diets and deliver fair pay for farmers. This holistic view forms the base of the fund’s lending strategy and is further explained in the Triodos Bank’s vision paper on food and agriculture systems (PDF).

Triodos' conceptual model of sustainable food systems

Triodos Groenfonds organic farming portfolio

Impact measurement

The information and data for this impact report are collected on an annual basis, in close cooperation with our investees. The Ecological Footprint method, developed by the Global Footprint Network and reported by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been used to estimate the total number of people that could be fed from organic land farmed as a result of our finance. This is a theoretical approach that shows the link between the diets that people eat and the farmland that provides their food. The Ecological Footprint (EF) is a measure of the global hectares (gHa) associated with any resource consuming economic activity. The Global Footprint Network has estimated the EF for many countries. They estimate that for the whole of the EU an average of 0.91gHa of cropland and 0.23gHa of grazing land are required to feed each person for one year from the farmed land, in Europe and beyond. In our calculations we only measure the projects with a direct relationship to our finance or investment. Because we are often the principle source of finance for a project we include 100% of the hectares when we co-finance a project. If it is not possible to pull 100% of the data required, we use conservative estimates.

Part of the whole story

Our role and efforts as an impact investor can only be captured in quantitative metrics and indicators to a limited extent. This means that indicators are pieces of information that are part of the broader picture. They give a sense of the impact we achieve through the capital that we have invested. For that reason, we don’t set specific goals for indicators or compare them to last year figures, because a higher number doesn’t necessarily mean more impact. For instance, providing capital to a relatively small farm seeking innovative circular solutions could create more impact than financing a more mature organic farm. To understand our vision and the extent to which we’re delivering on it, we share stories that illustrate the whole picture. These stories provide the essential context and background for our activities and illustrate our ‘theory of change’.

Meet some of the farmers behind Triodos Groenfonds’ investments in organic agriculture.

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Financing organic farming in the Netherlands

Why we invest in organic farming

Sustainable Development Goals

How does Triodos Groenfonds finance for impact?

2020: At a glance

Impact highlights

Organic farmland

Meals

In stories

Biodynamic farmers Monique and Martijn learn from nature

We must move towards a true pricing system

"A good crop grows on healthy soil"

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