Nexira launches third phase of Acacia Program and achieves significant reduction in carbon footprint

Acacia. Photo credit: Sebastien Ortola

Nexira (Rouen, France) has announced the launch of the third phase of its Acacia Program, which aims to promote sustainability and positive social impact in Africa. In the first two phases of the Acacia Program that took place between 2009 and 2020, Nexira worked in Chad in collaboration with SOS Sahel and its partners to protect acacia resources, enhance lives of locals, and promote sustainability. Among the program’s key achievements in the first two phases were the increase in acacia gum production, reforestation efforts, biodiversity efforts through assisted natural regeneration, and improved cooking stoves.

In phase three, the Acacia Program will focus on strengthening the gum acacia sector by involving more producers, empowering women, and increasing the surface area of forest management. The programs key objectives include:

• Involvement of 200 villages and 50,000 producers
• Work on 300,000 hectares of sustainably managed forest
• Increase in quality and productivity of gum acacia from 2,600 tons to 5,000 tons
• Empowering women involved in the sector
• Implementation of regenerative natural agriculture methods
• Development of the gum acacia value chain
• Expanding access to financial services for producers

Phase three of the Acacia Program also has the potential to sequester over 60,000 tCO2e of emissions annually, says the company. To highlight the program, Nexira has also undertaken an innovative artistic initiative in which photographer Nicolas Henry made a series of photographs called “Trees of Life.” The photos were presented for the first time at the Photoclimat biennial in Paris in September of 2023 with the aim of increasing the visibility of the program, and officially launching its third phase.

Additionally, with its brand of organic and sustainable ingredients, inavea, Nexira has made significant progress in carbon reduction. According to the company’s press release, Nexira’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through investment in less emitting technologies and working with suppliers on using less emissive transport solutions has resulting in a 9% reduction in the company’s carbon footprint per ton of finished product between 2019 and 2022. This amounts to 5,500 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to 625 world tours by car, says the company.