Raphaël De Ry

Raphaël De Ry is the CEO of ALLCOT IO, an organisation dedicated to leveraging new technologies from the Web3, ReFi (Regenerative Finance) and Blockchain ecosystem to enable the development of carbon projects driven by the community and its positive environmental impact. He was the founder of a natural and organic food products distributor, Edgar, the first modern-day zero-waste, plastic-free bulk grocery in Hong Kong

What we learnt

Raphaël De Ry shared his valuable insights on the advantages of utilizing tokenized carbon credits in environmental projects. By employing this approach, funds can be more efficiently redistributed to communities involved in such initiatives, leading to greater community empowerment and coalition building. These factors are vital in creating successful environmental projects.

Highlighting the critical role of community engagement, De Ry referred to a successful program in Colombia, where community members received 60% of the profits generated by the project. By undertaking various activities such as education and agroforestry, community members were rewarded for contributing to positive environmental outcomes. Leveraging digital technologies and smartphones, the program was effectively scaled, resulting in the creation of a micro-community where knowledge is shared, leading to a ripple effect of positive impact throughout the region.

De Ry stressed the need for measuring the externalities of environmental projects as a crucial step towards ensuring their success. Assessing the indirect effects of such initiatives, including social and economic impacts, can be achieved through independent audits and the use of sensors and data. Through diligent monitoring, stakeholders can make informed data-driven decisions to optimize the effectiveness of environmental projects.

Finally, De Ry emphasized the significance of utilizing digital tools and data to achieve environmental action. Digital platforms can facilitate effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders, while sensors and data can aid in monitoring environmental performance.

If you had a magic wand…

Building a gateway for redistribution as a universal standard for carbon projects, which would channel money back to the people at the core of the project and bring validity to the projects. I would also make sure that the project belongs to the community involved, not the project developer. The market is structured in a way that you still need to be a project developer to make it happen.

Key quotes

‘We can really develop different beliefs when we talk to people and exchange ideas. When I go back to the refi world and digital markets, and start talking to people, some of them tell me that these are like phony credits. But there are still a lot of things happening on the ground. It's not necessarily working well on the market side, but on the ground, there is still action that works, even though maybe it's not reaching the initial objectives.’


‘The power of the loop itself is also immeasurable in a way. Within traditional markets, there was no digital element that helped with scalability. This is where data becomes a key factor, because a sensor designed to detect chainsaws can be used for many purposes, from the moment it is implemented until the end of its life. It has a significant impact.’


‘IoT is used in forestry projects. A sound sensor can detect fires earlier and also detect chainsaws or trucks that are coming for logging. Sounds can also be used to measure biodiversity, just listen to the birds! And machine learning can help to identify which species are present at what time. It is possible to create a radio channel that broadcasts the sounds of the forest, allowing people to do a yoga session while feeling as if they are travelling through it.’


‘This digital linkage is so powerful because there are still many ways that we can help to interconnect people.  I've been hearing a lot about carbon projects where people can interact with the indigenous community, and I'm like, okay, that's a little bit exotic, but why not? We are social animals.’