Toroto fights poverty among rural communities by helping companies become carbon-neutral

Toroto is a science-based social enterprise that designs, finances and operates nature-based solutions to generate income for small-scale landowners by building a carbon-neutral future. Working along the whole value chain of carbon neutrality, serving businesses and individual consumers alike.
 

While it helps companies to measure, reduce and offset their carbon footprint in a way that creates value for business and for the environment, it develops conservation, restoration and sustainable management projects in partnership with “ejidos” (private landowners) on more than 150,000 hectares of Mexican soil.

Convinced that the countryside and its owners are the solution to the climate crisis, the company promotes the proper channelling of resources to them, so they will no longer live in poverty, causing increased damage to the environment. Currently, many ejidos struggle to get jobs and access to capacity development. This forces them to migrate and brings economic instability and poverty to their families and entire rural communities. As a result of poverty and lack of skills and knowledge, unsustainable management of the natural environment is widespread.

While there are no easy and efficient nature-based solutions available in Mexico, Toroto uses its business-to-business revenue model to help address these problems. It sells services and products to companies and other organisations who then can compensate their carbon footprint through the forestry projects designed with the communities who own the land. The model incentives capacity development within the communities, job creation and fair payment for their work while protecting forests, waters and land.

Toroto´s carbon-reduction projects, certified with international environmental standards, have so far supported twenty rural communities and benefited 6,000 people while creating 130 jobs.

Programme support:

Working in the growing field of nature and pollution reduction, Toroto has seen exponential growth since its foundation in 2019. To continue scaling up their business and increasing their positive impact, they will use the accelerator to learn about sustainable ways to help customers mitigate their carbon footprint in the medium and long term.

New Ventures and IKEA will support Toroto to solidify business processes so that by the end of the programme, the company is financially ready for investment.