Approach

The Future Friendly Fund invests in projects related to aviation innovation and biodiversity restoration. We focus on high-impact initiatives with limited access to traditional financing. Our investments give promising ideas the opportunity to grow.

Our approach

The Future Friendly Fund Foundation helps projects with financing in the form of loans or equity capital. We invest purposefully, with clear agreements and a sustainable strategy.

We support companies and projects that align with our mission: contributing to a livable and just planet. We choose projects that work on the themes of biodiversity or aviation innovation.

Biodiversity
Aviation innovation

Remediation

Remediation is an essential part of mapping true prices. This means not only looking at the damage caused by a product or service but also at what you can do to restore, prevent, or compensate for that damage if the first two options aren’t possible. Restoration and prevention always take priority over compensation.

That’s why we choose to invest in:

1. Restoring damage (biodiversity)
Flying causes significant environmental damage, such as loss of biodiversity and harm to ecosystems. Since there are no aircraft yet that prevent this damage, we choose to invest in nature restoration. This includes projects that restore forests, improve soils, or make ecosystems more resilient.

2. Preventing Damage (Aviation Innovation)
In the long term, flying should be possible without emissions. That’s why we also invest in aviation innovation: technology that reduces or completely prevents emissions. This is direct remediation, as it prevents future damage instead of “fixing” it afterwards.

By investing in both current restoration and future innovation, the Future Friendly Fund aligns with True Price’s remediation guidelines.

Reinvesting

The Future Friendly Fund operates as a revolving fund. Once a project is successfully completed, the borrowed amount is repaid with interest. This money flows back into the fund and is reinvested – including the earned interest – in subsequent projects. Because these are often risky investments, there’s no guarantee that the investment will be repaid (in full). This way, we allow the fund to grow rather than deplete it.

Transparent

The Future Friendly Fund operates completely independently. Board members and individuals connected to them have no role in the organizations we invest in. Additionally, all our investments are transparently recorded in the financial administration, which we publish annually on this website in the form of an annual report. This ensures responsible and fair use of our resources.

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Questions and answers

The Future Friendly Fund supports innovative projects, startups and organizations that contribute to a livable planet. The foundation invests in solutions for biodiversity restoration and the sustainability of aviation. The goal is to help scale up sustainable initiatives, especially when commercial investors are still hesitant.

The initial funding comes from Better Places, which donates an amount of approximately 100,000 euros to the foundation annually. In addition, travelers can contribute via the ‘true price of flying’: they voluntarily pay the difference between what their ticket costs and what it should actually cost for climate, nature and society.

The foundation supports projects that accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy. Consider:

  • Emission-free aviation technology, such as hydrogen or e-fuels
  • Nature restoration projects, such as reforestation or nature-inclusive agriculture
  • Green energy solutions, such as battery storage or hydrogen

These projects must be scalable, have measurable impact and contribute to structural change.

SAF stands for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a cleaner fuel for airplanes. There are three types:

  • Biofuel (SAF-B): made from material that comes from animals or plants, such as pork fat, but also wood chips
  • Waste-based fuels (SAF-W): made from waste such as used frying oil, animal fat, agricultural waste
  • Synthetic fuel/e-fuels (SAF-E): artificial fuel based on electricity, CO₂ and hydrogen

The SAF that most airlines are now focusing on is SAF-B and SAF-W. That seems sustainable, because you are using ‘waste’. But many of these residual flows are already being used by other industries, such as fats in cosmetics and animal feed. They are being priced out and are switching to alternatives such as palm oil, which causes deforestation. In addition, there is simply too little biomass to ever produce enough SAF. In 2024, less than 0.3% of the global fuel demand was produced with SAF.

Moreover, SAF from biomass is never completely emission-free: emissions are reduced by about 50-80%. That is why the Future Friendly Fund does not invest in SAF-B and -W, but in innovations that can truly make aviation emission-free.

Compensation gives the idea that you are directly ‘making up’ for the damage of a flight. But in reality, the emissions simply continue to exist. It promises something that is simply not true: that your trip is already climate neutral today. Moreover, research shows that it is highly unlikely that CO2 compensation makes an effective contribution to the climate problem. Want to know more about the industry behind CO2 compensation? Then read ‘Who pays, may pollute’ by Ties Gijzel and Mira Sys.

What is really needed is that we work towards emission-free travel in time. We cannot immediately go to zero emissions, but we can work towards emission-free aviation in 2050. This can only be achieved if we invest in innovation and reduction now: new technology, smart systems and less flying. This will set in motion a movement that really makes a difference.

So instead of rectifying something afterwards, we opt for progress. So that within one generation we can travel without burdening the climate.

Projects are carefully selected based on clear investment criteria. They must fit within one of the two main themes:

  • Biodiversity
  • Emission-free aviation

In addition, the fund looks at:

  • The phase of the project (early or catalytic phase)
  • The innovative character
  • The impact potential (measurable and scalable)
  • The quality of the team and the execution

After an initial Quick Scan, a due diligence process follows in which the plans, impact and financial feasibility are assessed. Only projects that demonstrably contribute to a more sustainable future and do not get off the ground without support receive funding. Investment processes

The Future Friendly Fund supports innovative projects, startups and organizations that contribute to a livable planet. The foundation invests in solutions for biodiversity restoration and the sustainability of aviation. The goal is to help scale up sustainable initiatives, especially when commercial investors are still hesitant.

entrepreneurship and impact investing:

  • Saskia Griep (founder Better Places, anthropologist, social entrepreneur)
  • Hans Bolscher (former director of Climate Change at EZ, energy transition expert)
  • Freek ten Broeke (social entrepreneur and co-founder Better Places)
  • Louise Snel (Aviation in Transition Foundation, communication specialist)
  • Saskia Werther (impact investing and circular economy)

They do not receive any compensation for their board work and are fully committed to the common good.

No. The foundation has no profit motive and uses all its resources for the common good. All board members fulfill their role unpaid, so they do not receive a salary or compensation for their work, only a possible reimbursement of expenses if they incur expenses for their position.

The foundation deliberately keeps its overhead as low as possible. Board members work unpaid and only receive reimbursement for expenses incurred. The limited operational costs, such as administration, communication and project evaluation, are covered by a separate contribution from Better Places, not by donations from travelers. This means that every euro contributed by travelers and companies remains fully available for the projects themselves.

The foundation deliberately keeps its overhead as low as possible. Board members work unpaid and only receive reimbursement for expenses incurred. The limited operational costs, such as administration, communication and project evaluation, are covered by a separate contribution from Better Places, not by donations from travelers. This means that every euro contributed by travelers and companies remains fully available for the projects themselves.

The Future Friendly Fund is registered as an ANBI (Public Benefit Organization). This means that the foundation is required to publish its policy plan, annual report and financial data annually on the website futurefriendlyfund.com. This allows donors, partners and the public to follow how resources are spent and what the results are of the investments in sustainable innovation.