Yves Carnazzola: Driving the Transition to a Regenerative Economy
Yves Carnazzola on using technology and collaboration to drive impactful investments and support sustainable, regenerative economies
This week, the TTI Interview Series covers our member Yves Carnazzola. Yves Carnazzola is a social entrepreneur dedicated to combining analytical skills and systems thinking to drive impact investing within financial markets. He is a key orchestrator of various collective and collaborative projects aimed at uniting diverse domain expertise and innovation to create value in the impact economy, bridging the gap between traditional and decentralized finance.
Impact refers to the result or effect that arises from an outcome. It can be direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional, positive or negative, and short or long-term. In the context of our work at AxessImpact, we focus on promoting positive, intentional, and long-term impact.
What do you believe is one of the most important issues that need to be solved over the next 10 years?
One of the most crucial issues we need to address over the next 10 years is the creation of effective incentives and financing mechanisms to facilitate the transition from a traditional economy to an impact-driven one. This is the first step. The second step is to promote and build a regenerative economy rooted in living principles, which can be achieved through education and awareness.
Yves, tell us a little about your work and how it intersects with the impact space.
AxessImpact is a Swiss-based climate solutions and technology company that I co-founded, dedicated to promoting sustainable, regenerative, and distributed-by-design development. By leveraging innovative technology and collective intelligence, AxessImpact connects environmental projects with systemic investors, ensuring transparency and impactful investments. Our flagship platform, Habitat, serves as a comprehensive operating system for developing and managing climate and nature-based solutions (NbS), enhancing sustainability, and fostering trust among stakeholders. Committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, AxessImpact drives significant progress through strategic partnerships and a holistic approach, facilitating a greener and more equitable future.
What is your own definition of impact?
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges in the impact space, standing in the way of providing solutions faster?
Within the impact space, one of the biggest challenges is addressing key leverage points effectively. For Net Zero efforts, the focus should be on the 100 major polluters / key sectors, which are responsible for a significant portion of global emissions. Additionally, recognizing that 5% of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) manage 80% of the world's biodiversity highlights their crucial role.
Tell us more about the long-term vision you have for your work and how you measure & quantify your impact.
Our long-term vision is to transition towards a regenerative economy, which emphasizes sustainability, restoration, and resilience. We measure and quantify our impact through a structured 3Ms process: Measure Outputs: We collect and analyze data on the immediate results of our projects, such as the number of trees planted, the area of land restored, or the amount of renewable energy generated. Monitor Outcomes: We track the longer-term effects of our projects, such as improvements in biodiversity, reductions in carbon emissions, and enhancements in community well-being. Manage Impact Units: We manage and report on the quantified benefits of our projects, ensuring that these impact units are transparent, verifiable, and aligned with our sustainability goals.
What are some of the misconceptions you’ve noticed regarding what impact is all about?
One of the key misconceptions about impact is that it’s often oversimplified due to a lack of proper measurement and monitoring, especially when there's a strong focus on short-term results and a lack of clear stakeholder alignment. Impact is inherently complex, context-dependent, and dynamic, unfolding along a long value chain. It’s not always linear, and there can be unintended trade-offs that vary across different spaces and timeframes.
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