Insetting: Shaping the future of Climate Action

by Tristan Lecomte, Tom Poole (Foreword)

The "I wrote this book based on my experience as a social entrepreneur at PUR, a company I founded, specialized in the development of Nature Based Solutions, in particular Insetting which we pioneered. I focused on stories from the field, and share insights on the potential of Insetting for Climate Action."Tom "INSETTING” is a MUST-READ for all those who are concerned about Climate and Sustainability.The author, Tristan Lecomte, has dedicated most of his adult life to fighting for a sustainable environment. Interestingly, he is the quintessential entrepreneur - a person who believes in what they do, has energy in abundance and can always find a way over, under or through a roadblock. He exudes passion in his quest to preserve our planet. Yet he is no naive environmental warrior. He fully appreciates that a certain level of economic self-interest will always exist and that “win-win” situations must be created for change to be embraced.During his years of involvement in promoting sustainability, Tristan was constantly searching for ways to scale up the projects that he was implementing with small farmers in many developing countries. But he remained adamant that scaling up could not be done at the expense of the quality of the project. At the same time, Tristan was very aware of the inter-connectivity of all things in nature. That “No Man is an Island” is as true today as when written some 400 years ago. So clearly, in order to scale-up, the various players in supply chains needed to be brought together. This confluence of ideas brought Insetting to life.Very simply stated, Insetting is akin to offsetting, except that it is done within the supply chain that is seeking to reduce its environmental impact. The “beauty” of Insetting is the leverage enjoyed by making investments in one's own supply chain, instead of in an unrelated area. Hence there is a real incentive to act in a manner which achieves the end goal of creating a sustainable value chain. And that in turn means that the stakeholders, as well as society in general, enjoy environmental, economic and social benefits.Naturally, Insetting is not a silver bullet, and proper implementation is crucial. A project cannot be imposed on farmers from above. Without buy-in from those responsible for the implementation and maintenance of a project it is doomed from the outset. But by employing cooperative, holistic methods, the chances of project success can be increased immeasurably. There is, of course, also nudging and prodding required to get corporations to understand that they have a responsibility to act. But the prodding is made easier when a company realizes that Insetting helps strengthen their supply chain, improves the quality of products and the reliability of suppliers, and assists in promoting their brand.While initially used in supply chains involving agricultural products, Insetting is continuing to grow, change and evolve. Not only is this necessary to remain fit for purpose, but it also allows Insetting to be used effectively in non-agricultural settings, be it the reduction of plastic pollution, mining restoration, ocean protection and many more scenarios. What are its boundaries? That remains to be determined, but they are certainly beyond the current applications.Years ago Marshall McLuhan said that the world was a “global village” as “time has ceased and space has vanished”. Although he was referring primarily to the effects of electronic technology, the concept aptly describes the environmental challenges we face today. The plastic bottles awash in the oceans, the CO2 expelled from coal-fired plants and rampant deforestation affect each and every one of us, regardless of where we live on this planet.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2023