2009 Carbon offset project – Innovative Recycling for South Africa

To compensate for CO2 emissions caused by the work of the Foundation, we are promoting a composting project in South Africa that will reduce methane gas emissions and strongly improve the local soil quality.

Type of project

Greenhouse gas emission reduction, ecological agriculture

Type of certificates

Verified emission reductions (abbreviated as VER, i.e. certified CO2 savings)

Certification

TÜV Nord

VER equivalent to 1355 tonnes of CO2 from this project were acquired by the Munich Re Foundation to compensate for its CO2 emissions from the year 2009. Since most of these emissions resulted from holding the Microinsurance Conference in Dakar, it was highly desirable to conduct a compensation project in Africa.

Soil & More Reliance Cape Town Composting

A composting plant near Cape Town in South Africa, operated in a joint venture between the Dutch company Soil & More International BV and the South African enterprise Reliance Compost (Pty) Ltd, uses innovative recycling techniques. Organic material is processed in line with UN criteria (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in a way that reduces levels of methane emissions that normally occur in standard composting processes. The humus produced is used for regional agriculture.

The project’s positive and sustained developmental effects include:

• Reduction of climate-influencing methane gas and CO2 emissions
• Cutback on pesticides in agriculture because of the enhancement of soil fertility
• Promotion of vegetation growth, thereby lessening the risk of erosion
• Rise of ground water levels, decreasing the need of additional irrigation
• Creation of 55 long-term jobs at the regional level
• Sustainable improvement of local living conditions

This project has an overall potential of 60,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year and thus makes an enormous contribution to reducing CO2 emissions.

18 February 2010