Yamaha has announced the first investment from its $100 million sustainability fund which was set up last June.
When Yamaha announced its Sustainability Fund in June 2022, it made clear that its aim was to combine carbon offsetting with an actual reduction in the carbon footprint of Yamaha’s existing businesses over the course of the 15 years for which the Fund will be in operation.
Carbon capture is in some ways a great hope for reducing the effects of climate change, but is also something that is still quite significantly in its developmental phase.
Yamaha has decided that the first investment from its Sustainability Fund should be directed towards Andes Ag., which is a US-based startup company researching and developing carbon recapture technology.
Andes was founded in 2018 by Gonzalo Fuenzalid, and is headquartered in Alameda, California. Its intention is to give farmers "microbial technology" which it says will both capture carbon dioxide and increase crop yields. In return, Andes can retrieve soil samples, and has the "rights for the carbon offsets."
Yamaha says: “Andes is researching methods to use naturally occurring microorganisms to durably store atmospheric CO2 in the soil. The company’s delivery platform uses seeds as safe vessels for microorganisms.”
The aforementioned microorganisms are able to thrive in combination with crops such as corn, soybean, and wheat, and in doing so they “convert atmospheric CO2 into mineral compounds that capture and deposit the carbon permanently into the soil, generating carbon dioxide removal credits which are validated through soil sampling,” according to Yamaha, whose venture capital arm, Yamaha Motor Ventures, was responsible for making the investment in Andes.
Find out more about Andes on its website.
