In collaboration
with Dalberg

Investing in Forests:
The Business Case
INSIGHT REPORTJUNE 2021

Images: Getty Images, Unsplash, Pexels

Contents
Executive summary

3

Definitions

6

1 Forest conservation and restoration: a solution to natural crises

7

1.1 The challenges

8

1.2 The solutions

8

1.3 The momentum

11

2 Forest conservation and restoration: why it matters for business

12

2.1 Business resilience opportunities

14

2.2 Business profitability and growth opportunities

16

2.3 Values-based leadership opportunities

19

3 Applying the business case to business types

21

3.1 Opportunities for businesses with high dependency
on forests23

3.2 Opportunities for businesses with low dependency
on forests27

3.3 Opportunities for businesses with high greenhousegas emissions

31

4 From opportunities to impact

33

4.1 Investment pathways for businesses

34

4.2 Key principles for successful investments in forest
conservation and restoration

35

4.3 Advancing the forest conservation and restoration
movement

38

Table of reference

39

Contributors

40

Endnotes

41© 2021 World Economic Forum. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, including photocopying
and recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

2

Executive summary
In the face of the interconnected crises ofnature loss and climate change, investing inforest conservation and restoration can benefit
businesses as they become leading actors in
the transition to a nature-positive, net-zero
economy. In this context, businesses are underincreasing pressure from governments, consumers
and investors to avoid, reduce and mitigate theircarbon emissions and reduce their impact onnature and biodiversity. Many businesses are
directly vulnerable to the effects of nature loss
and climate change: $44 trillion of economic
value generation is dependent on nature and its
services.1 Forest destruction and degradation isaccelerating the climate and nature crises, withtropical tree cover loss generating almost 5 GtCO2e

FIGURE 1

in annual emissions.2 Halting business practices
that contribute to nature and forest loss andclimate change is a vital priority. At the same time,
investments in forest conservation and restoration
are urgently needed to safeguard business interests
and reverse the damage that has already been
done. Forests already absorb around 7.6 billion
tonnes of CO2e per year (net absorption), 1.5
times more CO2e than the United States emits
annually,3 and responsible forest conservation
and restoration can be a cost-effective solution
to remove atmospheric carbon and build climate
resiliency. Investing in forests protects and restoresthe essential biodiversity and ecosystem services
that societies and economies depend on.

Three ways for business value to be created frominvestments in forest conservation and restoration

Reduced supply risk
Protect value chainsfrom physical effects
of climate change andloss of natural capital

Reduceddemand risk

Reducedregulatory risk

Reducedcapital risk

Maintain customer
demand by adapting
to shifting preferences

Stay ahead of
regulatory
requirements

Maintain accessto capital

Increasedcustomer trust
Ensure alignment
with customer values
and build trust

Increased growth
Seize opportunities toexpand investments
in new markets

Improved talentattraction andretention

Increased
profitability
Increase revenue andreduce costs throughdirect project outputs
and indirect business
opportunities

Increase employee
engagement andcreate a soughtafter culture

Businessresilience
Business
profitability
and growth

Values-basedleadership

Improved relationships
Expand relationships withbusiness parters andecosystem partners,
including the communities
in which they operate

Investing in Forests: The Business Case3

Investing in forests fulfils multiple corporate
priorities. Beyond helping to tackle the natureand climate crises, forest conservation andrestoration investments can create short-,
medium- and long-term value for businesses inthree main ways (see Figure 1):–

Business resilience: Investing in forest
conservation and restoration protects
businesses against the loss of natural capitaland physical effects of climate change, while
preparing for shifting consumer and investor
preferences. With many governments set to
introduce new regulations to address natureloss and climate change, investing in forests
offers an opportunity for businesses to stayahead of these policy shifts.

–

Business profitability and growth: The
economic value of forests is vast – one estimate
suggests that the total value of intact forests
and their ecosystem services is up to $150
trillion, around double the value of global stock
markets.4 Forest conservation and restoration
can indirectly increase core business profits,
through lower costs of capital and equity andincreased customer loyalty associated withsustainability attributes. Investing in forests
also directly generates environmental andcommercial returns, e.g. through the sale anduse of sustainable forest products.

–

Values-based leadership: Strong businesspositioning and values-based leadership are

instrumental for businesses to build long-termvalue. Forest conservation and restoration
support businesses to become leaders insustainability, strengthening business reputation
among customers, employees and businessand ecosystem partners, including thecommunities in which they operate.
Recognizing these economic benefits, manybusinesses across sectors have already started
to act, seizing opportunities to invest in forest
conservation and restoration. Businesses thatare highly dependent on forests, such as certain
consumer goods and forest product-reliant
companies, are investing in forest restoration andsustainable forest management. Such practices
build resilience to key risks and enable companies
to seize new opportunities for business growth andprofitability by integrating ecologically sound andsocially responsible approaches. Other businesses
with low direct dependencies on forests, suchas those in the technology and financial services
industries, have identified opportunities to develop
new products that benefit forest conservation andrestoration, and increase business profitability
and growth, while simultaneously enhancing
their relationships with employees, customers
and partners. Meanwhile, some businesses withlarge greenhouse gas emissions acknowledge
the need to avoid and reduce their emissions
as a priority, and are simultaneously investing inforest conservation and restoration to mitigate andcapture their residual emissions on the journey
towards net zero.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case4

By working
together,businesses canseize the fullenvironmental,social and market
opportunities
associated with
forest conservation
and restoration,
while mitigating
emerging risks

As the momentum around forest conservation andrestoration continues to build, there are three main
paths that businesses can take now to invest inforests. While avoiding and removing deforestation
within existing operations and value chains remains a
critical priority, businesses can go further by:
1. Investing in in-house conservation andrestoration along their value chains to addressrisks and secure new economic opportunities;
2. Using their existing assets to support forests
through their product expertise, global networks
and influence, customer base and employees;
and, where these options are not feasible,
3. Identifying opportunities to fund forest
conservation and restoration outside of theircore business to support other strategic
objectives – compensating for residual
emissions, enabling community engagement
etc. – as part of broader decarbonization,
nature-positive and sustainability strategies.
By adopting the following set of principles,companies can ensure that their investments
in forests successfully generate business value
and concurrently support nature, climate andlocal communities:
PROTECT existing forests: protect existing
primary and intact forests as a priority to avoid andreduce deforestation and forest degradation, since
they are biodiversity hotspots, long-term carbon
sinks and a repository for bio-innovation in the
search for new drugs or novel materials.
PARTNER with local communities, Indigenous
peoples, governments, NGOs and otherbusinesses: co-develop and implement projects
with local partners, communities and municipalities
to ensure that activities are effective, build on local
knowledge of forests, and protect local land-use
rights, with a long-term approach in mind.

PREVENT greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
and nature loss as a priority: invest inforest conservation and restoration as acomplementary measure to broader strategies
focused on avoiding and reducing emissions
as part of net-zero targets, and to reverse
negative impacts on nature and biodiversity.
PRIORITIZE projects that deliver both
environmental and social benefits: set clear goals
on the mix of environmental and social indicatorsthat a project prioritizes and develop milestones
throughout implementation to track progress.
PLAN for growing the right trees in the right way
and in the right regions: pick the most appropriate
regions and trees to ensure climate resilience andpermanence of new forests in the long term, while
avoiding unintended negative consequences.
By working together, businesses can seize
the full environmental, social and market
opportunities associated with forest
conservation and restoration while mitigating
emerging risks. Leading businesses know thatthey can make individual contributions to the global
effort to conserve and restore forests. However,
only by working in partnership with each otherand governments, NGOs, civil society, local andIndigenous communities, scientists, ecopreneurs
and other engaged players, can barriers becollectively overcome and opportunities harnessed.
Through these partnerships and collaborative
platforms such as the 1t.org Corporate Alliance,businesses can support field-building and marketshaping initiatives, e.g. on setting shared guidelines,
certification mechanisms, project origination
platforms and implementation and monitoring tools.
Businesses embracing this movement have aunique opportunity to help conserve, restore andgrow a trillion trees by 2030 while accelerating
resilience, profitability and value creation.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

5

Definitions
Agroforestry

Establishment or management of trees on agricultural land through planting
or regeneration to improve crop productivity, provide dry season fodder andenhance soil fertility and water retention, among other benefits

Ecosystem services

Benefits obtained from ecosystems such as climate regulation, food and waterprovision, pollination and disease control

Carbon credit

Verifiable quantity of climate mitigation for which the buyer can claim an offset
as a result of financing either reduction or avoidance of carbon emissions or theremoval or sequestration of CO2 in the atmosphere

Carbon negative

Businesses, organizations or countries that remove more carbon dioxide fromthe atmosphere than they emit (also known as climate positive)

Carbon removals

Process whereby carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored
for long periods of time, e.g. new forests absorbing carbon dioxide from theatmosphere and transforming it into biomass through photosynthesis

CO2e

Also known as carbon dioxide equivalent; for any quantity and type ofgreenhouse gases (including methane and nitrous oxide), CO2e signifies theamount of CO2 that would have the equivalent global warming impact

Decarbonization

Refers to the process of avoiding and reducing the carbon dioxide (CO2) output
of an organization or system

Forest conservation
and restoration

Please refer to Box 1 on Page 10 for a full definition

Forest products

Materials derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use,
including both timber and non-timber forest products (e.g. forest foods, medical
raw materials)

Natural climate
solutions (NCS)

Investment in ecosystem conservation, restoration and management
programmes that increase carbon storage, reduce carbon emissions andenhance climate resilience

Nature-based
solutions (NBS)

Actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified
ecosystems, that address societal challenges, simultaneously providing humanwell-being and biodiversity benefits

Net zeroTarget to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and balance residual emissions
with removals by a certain date in the future (not mutually exclusive fromscience-based targets)

Reforestation

Planting and/or deliberate seeding on formerly forested land that has been
degraded or where trees are unlikely to regenerate naturally

Regenerative businessBusinesses that protect, replenish, and restore both human and natural capital
Direct and indirect emissions categorized by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol into
three broad scopes:

Scope 1, 2 and 3
emissions

Science-based targets–

Scope 1: Direct greenhouse gas emissions occur from sources that are
owned or controlled by the company, e.g. emissions from fuel combustionin company-owned or controlled boilers–

Scope 2: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from consumption ofpurchased electricity, heat or steam–

Scope 3: Other indirect emissions that occur throughout a company’s value
chain, e.g. the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels

Goals set, committed to and approved through the Science Based Target
initiative (SBTi), which provide a clearly defined pathway for businesses toreduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with global carbon budgets

Investing in Forests: The Business Case6

1

Forest conservation andrestoration: a solution tonatural crises
This section highlights the accelerating privatesector momentum around forest conservation
and restoration as a critical solution to address
the interconnected nature and climate crises.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case7

1.1 The challenges

5%of restoration
funding in Europe
is from the private
sectorBusinesses are facing increasing risks due tothe connected crises of nature loss and climatechange, with over half of global GDP at risk.5
The world is facing two converging environmental
crises: the accelerating destruction of nature, andclimate change, with severe consequences for our
economies and societies. Many businesses are
directly vulnerable to the effects of climate change
and nature loss, with $44 trillion of economic value
generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP– moderately or highly dependent on nature andits services.6 Nature loss and climate change also
threaten to destabilize markets in which businesses
operate; and the destruction of nature is also
closely linked to the emergence and spread of new
infectious diseases such as COVID-19.7 In the faceof these environmental emergencies, governments,
consumers and investors are increasingly puttingpressure on businesses to decarbonize theiroperations, accelerate their transitions towards
net-zero emissions, and turn around their impact onnature from one that depletes to one that restores
natural capital.
Forest destruction and degradation isaccelerating the climate and nature crises,
further putting business interests at risk.
Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation
was estimated at around 10 million hectaresof forest per year – almost half the size of theUnited Kingdom.8 Most deforestation globally isdriven by the expansion of large- and small-scalecommercial agriculture and tree plantations.9
Widespread deforestation directly increases
business vulnerability to the effects of the climate
and nature crises. If tropical forest deforestation
were a country, it would rank third in global
emissions rankings, generating almost 5 GtCO2e inannual emissions (gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent).10
Deforestation is also causing global biodiversity
loss, with 80% of the world’s terrestrial species
living in forests.11 In this context, businesses that
rely on commodities that are driving deforestation
within their value chains face severe reputationaland regulatory risks. In total, the financial impact
of business risks associated with deforestation isestimated at $53.1 billion.12
Despite these business risks, private-sector
investment to protect and restore forests has
historically been limited. A recent study estimatesthat only around $124 billion–$143 billion wascommitted to biodiversity-focused projects in
2019, including forest conservation and restoration,compared to an annual need of $722 billion–$967
billion.13 Meanwhile, only a small fraction of funding
for forests is from the private sector.14 In Europe,
only 5% of the total funding for terrestrial ecosystem
restoration is currently generated by the private
sector.15 Although the exact amount of global
private-sector investment in forests is unknown, it isinsufficient to mitigate the risks posed to businessby the nature and climate crises.

1.2 The solutions
The extent
and scale of[socioeconomic]transformations
is not to beunderestimated,
yet they could
create $10 trillion
in annual business
opportunitiesand 395 million
jobs by 2030

Addressing these challenges will require atransformative shift in business approaches,
which can open up strategic and commercial
opportunities. Addressing the drivers of natureand forest loss and climate change will require
fundamental transformations across threesocioeconomic systems: food, land and oceanuse; infrastructure and the built environment; andenergy and extractives.16 The extent and scale ofthese transformations is not to be underestimated,
yet they could create $10 trillion in annual business
opportunities and 395 million jobs by 2030.17 A
recent study found that every $1 (both private
and public investment) spent on key net-zero andnature-positive activities, including ecosystemconservation and restoration, can generate up to$7 more in the broader economy.18 Furthermore,beyond the direct commercial opportunities forbusinesses, there is a growing recognition thatbusiness as usual is no longer an option and that
we need to shift to a world of stakeholder capitalism
where both people and the planet are beneficiaries
of business activities and need to be integral tocorporate strategic decision-making.19 Within thesystem of stakeholder capitalism, the interests ofall stakeholders in the economy and society aretaken on board, and companies optimize for longterm value creation beyond short-term profits. As
businesses widen their lens on what it means tocreate value, they will need to measure, value andbe accountable for their impact and dependencies
on nature and its services, thus becoming leading
actors in the transition to a sustainable economy.
While halting business practices that contributeto nature loss and climate change is a vital
priority, this report focuses on the urgent needfor investments in forest conservation andrestoration to safeguard business interests andreverse the damage that has already been done.
Ending practices that generate high greenhousegas (GHG) emissions and those that contribute tonature loss and deforestation is critical if businesses
are to mitigate the risks posed by the climate
and nature crises. More than half of the carbon
abatement potential of natural climate solutions is
Investing in Forests: The Business Case8

in avoided deforestation (see Figure 2).20 But halting
these practices is not sufficient to reverse theclimate crisis or protect existing ecosystems andforests against future threats. By investing in forest
conservation and restoration alongside their avoided
emissions and avoided deforestation commitments,
businesses can maximize the full carbon mitigation
potential of forests and effectively restore andprotect biodiversity and ecosystem services. In
many cases, forest conservation and restoration
activities contribute to reduced deforestation
by diminishing pressure on forests (e.g. throughincreased crop productivity, thus decreasing theneed for forest clearing for agricultural purposes), or
increasing the comparative value of standing forests(e.g. by creating new markets for forest foods).
Forest conservation and restoration offer a
cost-effective way for businesses to support
their transitions towards net-zero emissions, inaddition to a broader decarbonization strategy
focused on avoiding and reducing emissions.

FIGURE 2

Over the past few years, nature-based solutions(NBS) have gained momentum in the private
sector as businesses strive to meet their net-zerotargets and improve their impact on nature andforests. While avoiding and reducing economy-wide
emissions are essential priorities, also investing
in NBS could help to abate around 30% of total
GHG emissions by 2030, with forests providing
almost 70% of this mitigation potential (see Figure2).21 Global forests already absorb net 7.6 billion
tonnes of CO2e per year (net absorption), 1.5
times more CO2e than the United States emits
annually.22 Furthermore, the global tree restoration
potential is estimated at 0.9 billion hectares, whichcorresponds to between 1 and 1.2 trillion trees.23
In this context, and emphasizing the importance ofconserving existing trees in addition to growing newforests, conserving restoring and growing 1 trillion
trees by 2030 represents an essential componentof a global strategy to preserve and expand existing
carbon sinks.24

Climate mitigation potential of natural climate solutions (NCS)25

Total NCS abatement
potential out of net
emissions reduction
requirement by 2030
(GtCO2)Abatement potential per NCS per year 2030
(GtCO2)

3.6

7

0.2

6.7

23

1.0
1.0

Total

Avoideddeforestation& peatland
impactAvoidedcoastalimpactPeatlandrestoration

Avoidance (~60%)

Forests

Wetlands

Reforestation

0.5

0.3

Cover
crops

Trees incropland0.1
Coastalrestoration

Restoration (~40%)
Croplands

Source: World Economic Forum, Nature and Net Zero, 2021
Note: This graph represents the “practical” potential per NCS, a portion of the total NCS abatement potential in recognition that it becomes progressively moredifficult to secure carbon credits as the total potential of each source is approached. It filters out low-feasibility lands, which are more likely to be accessed bymechanisms other than voluntary carbon markets, such as philanthropic or governmental grants. For example, the practical potential of reforestation is sized at 1.0
GtCO2 per year by 2030, which excludes 1.1 GtCO2 per year that is low feasibility according to our filter. There are many economic, political, and social lenses thatcan be used to determine feasibility, and in reality, these lenses would not draw a neat boundary between lands that are ‘practical’ or not for the voluntary carbon
market; however, this analysis classifies low-feasibility lands assessing their agricultural rent as an economic barrier and proxy for feasibility.
Investing in Forests: The Business Case

9

Forests arehome to morethan 60,000 tree
species, almost
7,500 bird species
and over 3,000
different mammals

Investing in forest conservation and restoration
is a cost-effective way for businesses toimprove their impact on nature and safeguard
the essential biodiversity and ecosystemservices upon which they depend. Forests
are home to more than 60,000 tree species,
almost 7,500 bird species (75% of all birds)
and more than 3,000 different mammals (68%of all mammals) and provide a wide range of
ecological services that keep natural systems inbalance.26 Trees also play a critical role in air andwater purification, stabilize soils and increase
resilience to the physical risks posed by climate

BOX 1

About forest conservation and restoration

change. In the Amazon River Basin, for example,
ecosystem services are estimated to contribute$8.2 billion to Brazil’s economy every year.27
Likewise, the Sundarbans, the world’s largest
continuous mangrove forest, spanning acrossthe India-Bangladesh border, provides essential
ecosystem protection in the Bay of Bengal andacts as a natural barrier against storms, typhoons
and tsunamis.28 With the majority of businesses
and sectors dependent on forest products orservices either directly or through their value chains,forest conservation and restoration offer a costeffective route to safeguard business interests.

Forest conservation and restoration projects
with the best results plant the right trees in theright places – maximizing native tree species
while ensuring a mix of species types that areappropriate to local climates and water availability.
They monitor forest restoration to secure longterm results and ensure alignment between
local community livelihoods and interests, andbusinesses incentives. Successful initiatives
focus on equitable and inclusive conservation
and restoration; they partner with Indigenous

peoples, ensuring the protection of communities’
land-use rights and supporting communityled forest management. Close collaboration isneeded among businesses, local authorities,
communities and conservationists for longterm impact. When implemented correctly andwith the appropriate safeguards, sustainable
use and management of forests can support
conservation and restoration outcomes, ensuringthat activities are financially sustainable forcommunities, producers and businesses.

Effective forest conservation and restoration can beclassified broadly into three categories:

grazing. In the case of agricultural land, it entails
agroforestry, i.e. tree planting or practices such as
farmer-managed natural regeneration that improve
crop productivity and enhance soil fertility andwater retention. Other restoration activities include
planting or enhancing mangroves in coastal areas
or forests on steep slopes for watershed protectionand erosion control.

Forest conservation involves protecting existing
forests; for example, through the acquisition of orlegal agreements over forest landscapes to avoidplanned or unplanned degradation or deforestation,and ensuring the permanent conservation offorest landscapes in partnership with Indigenous
communities, maximizing biodiversity and soil
health, protecting wildlife corridors and reducing therisks posed by wildfires.
Forest landscape restoration approaches29 focus
on restoring the ecological function and enhancing
human well-being across deforested or degraded
forest landscapes. In the case of formerly forested
land, this includes planting appropriate tree species,
natural regeneration and enhancement of degraded
forests and woodlands by reducing fire andEnabling actions refer to the creation of an
ecosystem that encourages conservation,
restoration and growing of trees and forests.
These actions may include: building nursery
capacity; sustainable forest management; forest
education campaigns; community engagement;
capacity building and job training programmes;
technological tools that support the implementationand monitoring of conservation and restoration
initiatives; and innovative financing mechanisms.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case10

1.3 The momentum

210m
hectares of land
have been pledged
to be restored bygovernments

FIGURE 3

As governments and businesses look to recoverand “build back better” following the pandemic,
the momentum is accelerating around nature andclimate action, including forest conservation andrestoration. The number of corporate commitments
to reach net-zero emissions has more than doubled
over the past year, and the scale of natural climate
solutions within these commitments is rising
accordingly.30 More than 70 governments have
now pledged to restore 210 million hectares of landthrough the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to restore
the world’s most degraded and deforested land.31 A
coalition of private- and public-sector partners havelaunched the Green Gigaton Challenge, which aims tomobilize funds to achieve one gigaton of high-quality
emissions reductions annually from forest-based
natural climate solutions by 2025. By supporting
forest conservation and restoration, businesses

will contribute to the global agenda to “build backbetter”. Businesses can look to seize important policy
moments with the launch of the UN Decade on
Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), alongside otherlandmark events on biodiversity and climate change.
Recognizing the benefits of investing inforests, many leading businesses have alreadytaken action to embed forest conservation
and restoration within their broader businessstrategies. While halting and reversing deforestation
remains a critical priority for all businesses, many
recognize the value of going beyond avoided
deforestation and actively protecting forests fromfuture threats. As a result, many large businesses
across a wide range of sectors have set bold
commitments for conservation, restoration andgrowing trees and forests (see Figure 3).

Sample of corporate pledges on forest conservation and restoration

AmazonSupporting forests through Right Now
Climate Fund, a $100 million USD funde.g., urban greening in Germany; family
forest carbon programme in US

Bank of America
Working with Arbor Day
Foundation to expand tree
canopy in urban communities

HP
Restoring 80,000
hectares of forest in China
and Brazil

REI Co-op
Growing 1 million
trees acrossNational Forests in US

Nestlé
RGE

Supporting forest
restoration andconservation in
Côte d’Ivoire
and GhanaApple
Protecting 11,000
hectares of mangrove
forest in Colombia

Salesforce
Supporting development offorest tools e.g., identifying
Trillion Trees innovators(including in the Amazon Basin) via
UpLink digital platform

Protecting
150,000
hectares of peatswamp forest inIndonesia

SuzanoMastercard

Conserving
900,000
hectares offorest in Brazil

Set up Priceless Planet
Coalition to support
forests in Brazil, Kenya
and Australia

Eni

Growing 8 million ha of forest
across South Africa, Mozambique,Rabobank
Zimbabwe and Ghana
Supporting reforestation through AGRI3
Fund, a $1bn blended finance vehicle e.g.,sustainable sugar cane production in Brazil

This report outlines why and how forwardlooking businesses across sectors can invest
in forest conservation and restoration tocreate value, and lays out the practical steps
for a company to enter this space effectively.
Businesses have a common interest in investing inforest conservation to preserve the global economy
from the effects of nature loss and climate change.
Furthermore, forest conservation and restoration
offer specific opportunities to create value andShellAcquired Select Carbon inAustralia with portfolio of
70+ carbon farming projects

transition to more sustainable and resilient businessmodels. This report highlights these opportunities
and illustrates how businesses can capitalizeon them in the future. While this report focuses
primarily on opportunities for large businesses,
many of the arguments are also applicable to smalland medium-scale businesses (SMEs), which cancapitalize on new business opportunities associatedwith effective forest conservation and restorationand develop new innovations.
Investing in Forests: The Business Case112

Forest conservation andrestoration: why it mattersfor businessThis section highlights why forwardlooking businesses are investing in forest
conservation and restoration to create short-,
medium- and long-term business value.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

12

Investing in forest conservation and restoration
creates short-, medium- and long-term value forbusinesses in three ways:
1. By boosting business resilience against risks;
2. By creating growth and profitability
opportunities; and3. By improving business positioning throughvalues-based leadership (see Figure 4).
The financial risks to businesses posed by climatechange and the destruction of nature are severe,and investing in forest conservation and restoration

FIGURE 4

is a cost-effective way to build resilience to theserisks. The economic value of forests is vast – one
estimate suggests that the total value of intact
forests is up to $150 trillion, around double thevalue of global stock markets.32 Investing in forest
conservation and restoration can therefore offer newopportunities for business growth and profitability.
Finally, strong business positioning and valuesbased leadership are instrumental for businesses
to build long-term value. Forest conservation andrestoration supports businesses to become leadersin sustainability, strengthening business reputation
among customers, employees and business andecosystem partners, including the communities inwhich they operate.

Three ways for business value to be created from investments in forest
conservation and restoraton

Reduced supply risk
Protect value chainsfrom physical effects
of climate change andloss of natural capital

Reduceddemand risk

Reducedregulatory risk

Reducedcapital risk

Maintain customer
demand by adapting
to shifting preferences

Stay ahead of
regulatory
requirements

Maintain accessto capital

Increasedcustomer trust
Ensure alignment
with customer values
and build trust

Increased growth
Seize opportunities toexpand investments
in new markets

Improved talentattraction andretention

Increased
profitability
Increase revenue andreduce costs throughdirect project outputs
and indirect business
opportunities

Increase employee
engagement andcreate a soughtafter culture

Businessresilience
Business
profitability
and growth

Values-basedleadership

Improved relationships
Expand relationships withbusiness parters andecosystem partners,
including the communities
in which they operate

Investing in Forests: The Business Case13

2.1 Business resilience opportunities
Reduced supply risks
Investing in forest conservation and restoration
can protect business operations and value
chains against the loss of natural capital andphysical effects of climate change. Some $44
trillion of economic value generation is moderately
or highly dependent on nature and its services, andtherefore directly exposed to risks from nature loss.33
These supply risks vary from acute events, such as
extreme weather events, to persistent, long-termchanges in environmental conditions.34 By investingin forests, businesses have an affordable way tomitigate these supply risks since forests act as a vast
carbon sink and offer protection from the physicalimpacts of climate change. For example, mangrove
forests are estimated to reduce property damage bymore than $65 billion every year by blocking storm
surges and reducing the intensity of waves.35

79%

of consumers
prioritise social
responsibility

The future success of many businesses is also
dependent on the continued supply of forest
products or ecosystem services. Across sectors,
many businesses do not recognize that their core
revenue is dependent on continued access to forest
products and services. Many products contain raw
materials sourced from forests, such as wood, cork,
resins and tall oil. For example, tall oil acid and its
salts are used to develop hair dyes and bleaches,shampoos and shaving cream. Businesses mustassess and analyse these dependencies tomitigate potential supply risks. Furthermore, mostbusinesses are reliant on well-functioning forest
services. For example, most businesses dependon access to water for their core operations, andforests and trees play a critical role in well-regulatedhydrological cycles. Supporting forest conservation
and restoration enables business continuity andaccess to the critical supply-chain inputs uponwhich they rely.
Reduced demand risks
Increasing demand for sustainable, zero-carbon
products is driving businesses to invest in forest
conservation and restoration. Consumers areprioritizing sustainability in their purchases, with
79% of consumers across Europe, the US and India

likely to change their product preferences based onsocial responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental
impact.36 As consumers increasingly seek out
sustainable products, businesses can embrace
this opportunity by investing in forest conservation
and restoration in a variety of ways. Recognizingthese shifting preferences, some businesses haveadapted their product pricing structure – tentree, asustainable apparel brand, has committed to grow10 trees for every item that it sells, accounting forthese costs in the product pricing. Coupled withrigorous sourcing and manufacturing criteria, thiscommitment has allowed tentree to grow rapidly
from a small start-up in 2012 to a fast-growing
certified B Corp, a corporation that balances profit
with ethical values and actions, able to expand
its ambition to grow 1 billion trees by 2030 inpartnership with leading NGOs.37 Others are offering“buy one, plant one” schemes to their customers,
while yet others have made commitments to donate
1% of their profits to environmentally focused NGOs
through the 1% for the Planet scheme.
Even B2B businesses are likely to face demands
from other businesses to reduce their emissions
and improve the impact of their operations
on nature. B2B businesses will need to adapt
to shifting preferences, as a growing number ofbusinesses adopt net-zero targets and become
accountable for the environmental impacts ofthe products they purchase and sell throughout
their value chain. Of the 450-plus businesses
that have approved emissions reduction targets
through the SBTi, around 94% have set Scope
3 emissions reductions, which include both
upstream and downstream emissions in theirvalue chains.38 Under new guidance regarding thecriteria for developing a net-zero target, setting
Scope 3 targets is due to become mandatory.39
Consequently, many upstream suppliers are facing
new kinds of sustainability requirements from theirretailers. For example, online fashion retail platform
Zalando has set a target to ensure that 90% of its
main suppliers set their own science-based targets
to reduce, avoid and mitigate their emissions.40
Forest conservation and restoration can support
businesses to mitigate residual emissions, as part ofa broader net-zero strategy.

A Nepalese woman holds Kher (Sengalia catchu) seedlings to be planted at a
community forest project near Ruchang, supported by Eden Reforestation and tentree.
Credit: tentree

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

14

Reduced regulatory risks
Businesses can stay ahead of governmentpressure to improve their impact on natureand forests by investing in conservation
and restoration, while also supporting theirtransitions to net zero. Many governments
are starting to set agendas for action on natureloss and forest restoration, with countries
negotiating the adoption of the post-2020
Global Biodiversity Framework. Some countries
have already passed legislation to protect andconserve natural ecosystems, in line with a
global target to protect 30% of the planet by2030. For example, France recently established

FIGURE 5

a duty-of-care law that requires businesses
to include environmental assessments in theirvalue chains. Many governments are integrating
natural emissions sources and sinks into theirnationally determined contributions (NDCs) andmitigation plans, expanding opportunities forbusinesses to support governments to achieve
their pledges (see Figure 5). Carbon regulations
are also intensifying through carbon taxes andmandatory climate-related financial disclosures.
Since forests are hotspots for biodiversity andplay a critical role in carbon removal and storage,
investing in forest restoration and conservation isa cost-effective and impactful way for businesses
to get ahead of these new regulations.

Summary of net-zero legislation by country
Country

Net-zero target date

StatusSuriname-

Achieved

Bhutan-Achieved

Sweden2045

In law

UK

2050

In law

France2050

In law

Denmark

2050

In law

New Zealand2050

In law

Hungary2050

In law

EU

2050

Proposed legislation

Canada2050

Proposed legislation

South Korea

2050

Proposed legislation

Spain

2050

Proposed legislation

Chile

2050

Proposed legislation

Fiji

2050

Proposed legislation

Reduced capital risks
Investing in forest conservation and restoration
can support businesses to stay ahead ofshifting investment policies and ensure
continued access to capital. Ratings agencies
have started to include environmental disclosuresin their assessments through the Task Force on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) andTask Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures(TNFD). Likewise, institutional investors are limiting
their exposure to investments linked to highgreenhouse gas emissions or the destruction ofnature. More than 540 investors, representing over
$52 trillion in assets across dozens of markets,
have signed up to Climate Action 100+, an investorled initiative to engage high-emission businesses.41
For example, ASN Bank has committed to have a
net positive effect on biodiversity by 2030 throughits loans and investments,42 while Storebrandaims to have an investment portfolio that does notcontribute to deforestation by 2025.43 By investingin forest conservation and restoration as part ofa broader decarbonization and nature strategy,
businesses can adapt to these new policies andmitigate the risk of incurring higher costs of capital.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case15

2.2 Business profitability and growth opportunities
Increased profitability

By strengthening
their sustainability
strategies throughforest conservation
and restoration,businesses
can indirectly
increase their corebusiness profits

Forest conservation and restoration investments
can increase core business profits throughlower costs of capital and equity and increased
customer loyalty driven by sustainability. For
example, research by Bank of America found thatbusinesses with a better environmental social
governance (ESG) record produced higher threeyear returns, were more likely to become highquality stocks, were less likely to have large pricedeclines and were less likely to go bankrupt.44
The relationship between financial performanceand sustainability holds even when accounting fortransaction costs, market risk, investment styleand industries, suggesting that the two factors
are deeply interconnected.45 Better sustainability
policies tend to lead to better credit ratings46 andlower costs of equity,47 and positive environmental
news can also trigger positive stock pricemovements. By strengthening their sustainability
strategies through forest conservation andrestoration, businesses can indirectly increase theircore business profits. Likewise, by marketing theirinvestments in forest conservation and restoration,businesses may also be able to increase their core
revenues by attracting and retaining customers.
Carbon markets also offer an opportunity forbusinesses to generate commercial returns
through forest conservation and restoration.
By investing direct equity in forest conservation
and restoration projects, businesses can generate
carbon credits, which are bought and sold throughregulatory compliance markets or voluntary carbon
markets. Historically, few restoration projects
have sold carbon within these markets due to thevolatility of carbon prices.48 However, as the market
architecture for the carbon markets is strengthened
and stronger standards are introduced to ensure
demand and supply integrity, carbon financecan pay for conservation and forest protection.
Many investors in the carbon and timberland
space are predicting that the price of carbon willsoon stabilize, creating a new revenue stream tofund forest conservation and restoration projects
globally, while also delivering market returns onthese investments.49
Forest conservation and restoration can also
generate direct market returns through thesale of sustainable forest products. Althoughsome projects take a purely ecological approach,
others can directly generate commercial returns –provided there are appropriate social and ecologicalsafeguards – through the sale of wood and fibre
as well as non-timber forest products (e.g. forest
foods, medical raw materials). For example,
forest restoration projects can be combined withsustainable timber approaches where trees arescheduled for harvest and sale at a later time. A
core component of sustainable timber production
involves mimicking the natural regeneration
cycles of forests.50 In natural forests, some trees
will typically die from being overshadowed byneighbouring trees. By determining which trees
may be at risk, businesses can focus on harvestingthese trees, rather than letting the wood decay andrelease carbon into the atmosphere. To mitigate
the potential risks, businesses ensure selective
harvesting or minimum harvesting thresholds,
restoration of harvested trees, and the creationof partnerships that support local communities.
With demand for sustainable wood set to doubleor potentially triple by 2050,51 businesses have an
opportunity to generate revenue from the sale ofsustainable timber, while also contributing to carbon
sequestration and restoring global biodiversity.
Businesses across sectors can reduce costs,
improve product value propositions and support
forest restoration by substituting carbonintensive materials with sustainable forest
products in their business operations. By driving
demand for sustainable forest products, businesses
can support forest conservation and restoration andmeet social and ecological safeguards, while also
reducing their costs, as part of the “forest economy”(see Box 2). For example, investing in sustainable
mass timber for new buildings and infrastructure
can drive both carbon and cost savings compared
to traditional building materials. McDonald’s
recently built its new flagship restaurant in Chicago
using cross-laminated timber (CLT)52 and Stora
Enso, a forest products company, is also building
its new headquarters from mass timber building
solutions such as CLT and laminated veneer
lumber (LVL). Using sustainable mass timber suchas CLT in buildings and infrastructure can lead to
substantial cost savings, decreasing construction
time by approximately 20% and also reducing
end-of-life costs.53 Through substituting carbonintensive materials with sustainable forest productsin their operations, businesses can improve theirprofitability, decarbonize their procurement, invest
in sustainable forest management and support
communities around the world, while meeting socialand ecological safeguards.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

16

BOX 2

Sustainable forest products in the circular bioeconomy – delivering climate, biodiversity
and economic benefits
In September 2020, the Circular Bioeconomy
Alliance was launched as part of the Sustainable
Markets Initiative. The circular bioeconomy isabout providing sustainable well-being throughthe provision of ecosystem services and thesustainable management of biological resources.
Achieving a circular bioeconomy will require deeptransformative shifts from a linear, fossil fuel-based
economy towards a circular model, enabled bytransformative policies, purposeful innovation,
investment and access to finance, as well as newand sustainable business models and markets.
Investing in forests plays a crucial role inachieving the transition towards the circularbioeconomy. This holds as true for investmentin the protection of primary forests as it
does for investment in sustainably managed
production forests, as the source of innovative
renewable and biological resources.
Such innovative nature-based products are now
being developed across industries and are starting
to compete with non-renewable and fossil fuelbased materials. Examples include highly functional
wood-based textile fibres such as viscose, lyocell,
Tencel, lightweight and incredibly strong woodbased cellulose nanofibre (CNF) that can even be
used in car manufacturing, and engineered wood
products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT)and glue-laminated timber (GLT), which are used toreplace steel and concrete in the construction sector.
Trends in the construction and buildings sector
illustrate why such bio-based materials need to
become part of the solution. Today, buildings andconstruction are responsible for roughly 40% of
global GHG emissions.54 Population growth andurbanization are further increasing the demandfor housing and land, particularly in fast-growing
emerging economies. In that context, continuing

to build with linear, business-as-usual approaches
is no longer a viable option. Instead, the scaling ofalternative bio-materials such as engineered wood
products becomes an important part of the solution
for future cities that deliver positive commercial
impact for industry,55 improve the well-being ofcity inhabitants56 and drive positive climate andbiodiversity outcomes.
For such forest-derived products to deliver
climate and biodiversity benefits depends toa large extent on how the forests from which
the products are sourced are managed.
Sustainable forest practices such as integrated
forest management, which aligns biodiversity
conservation with sustainable wood production,offer a proven model. By prioritizing plantations
that include a diversity of native and climateadapted species – instead of monocultures thatare vulnerable to climate risks such as pests
and fires – these practices contribute to carbon
storage, improved resiliency to climate stressand enhanced biodiversity, thus strengthening
the resiliency of the entire forest ecosystem.57
Integrated forest management, adapted to local
circumstances, makes it possible to reduce
trade-offs between the protection and production
functions of forests and focus on win-wins thatmeet the demands of a growing population.
Public policies, market incentives, investments
and support for forest owners will be important tomainstream integrated forest management acrossgeographies. Networks to share techniques areanother important enabler. One such network is
the European Integrate Network, facilitated by theEuropean Forestry Institute as part of the EU’s Forest
Strategy, which promotes the integration of nature
conservation into sustainable forest management
and knowledge sharing to accelerate that shift.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case17

Increased growthEvery business also has specific opportunities
for growth by investing in forest conservation
and restoration (see Section 3 for further details).
Many businesses are well-positioned to expand
their product ranges to include sustainably
sourced forest products and capture new market
opportunities. For example, sustainable forest
management for timber, pulp and paper products
could create $165 billion in additional annual
revenue by 2030.58 These new market opportunities
include revenues from products such as high-value,
low-volume sustainable timber, as well as new end

BOX 3

applications such as sustainable timber buildings,
which alone could be worth $45 billion per yearby 2030.59 In other sectors, there are new market
opportunities from developing products that support
forest conservation and restoration efforts. For
example, the technology sector is well-placed todevelop new digital tools and innovations to support
forest project sourcing and monitoring, which are
expected to be increasingly in demand. Meanwhile,in the financial sector, many banks and asset
managers are expanding their investment products
to include blended finance, carbon markets andgreen bonds that support forest financing.

Financing forest conservation and restoration
Across all types of projects, unlocking
the business potential of forests requires
understanding costs and identifying themost appropriate ways to fund projects.
Forest conservation and restoration projects
typically involve three types of funding: 1)
transaction costs associated with planningand negotiating projects, including community
engagement and appropriate governancesystems; 2) establishment costs associatedwith upfront capital investments, e.g. the costsof site preparation, purchasing seeds, planting
and engineering the site; and 3) maintenancecosts to support the ongoing management andmonitoring of projects, including any associatedverification costs.60 The cost breakdown will varydepending on the type of project, the speciesof trees planted, the need for the establishmentof nurseries, the extent to which the project lays
the groundwork for broader systems change andmultistakeholder involvement, and the region
where it is implemented. For example, restoration
approaches such as establishing agroforestry
systems may cost more than natural regeneration,
but can unlock self-sustaining revenue streams
over time.61 It is important to note that projects
with the lowest cost per tree will not necessarily
yield the most long-lasting and transformative
impact, and that more costly projects often
include additional socioeconomic or capacitybuilding measures that are likely to improvetree survival rates and project sustainability.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case18

2.3 Values-based leadership opportunities
When incorporated within a broader
sustainability strategy, forest conservation
and restoration can support businesses tobecome industry leaders in sustainability andconsolidate relationships with customers,
employees and partners. Forest conservation andrestoration are recognized as critical approaches
to address the converging environmental crises,
yet these actions remain underfunded, creating
leadership opportunities for forward-looking andimpact-oriented businesses. Industry leaders
in forest conservation and restoration are likely
to build and consolidate their relationships withcustomers, employees and partners. To encourage
and support businesses to act at the forefront offorest restoration, 1t.org, the World Economic
Forum’s trillion trees platform, is curating the 1t.org
Corporate Alliance, a cross-industry communityof businesses committed to exercising leadershipand integrity in forest conservation and restoration.
Within the alliance, companies share learnings,
connect with leading experts and explore joint
investments in priority regions.
Increased customer trust
Forest conservation and restoration investments
help businesses align their values with thoseof their customers and build trust around theirbrand. Consumers across sectors are embracing

sustainability and want brands that support themin having a positive environmental and social
impact. The link between consumer loyalty andenvironmental sustainability is well-established.62,63
By investing in forest conservation and restoration,businesses can build customer trust and engage
customers to act more sustainably. For example,
the Priceless Planet Coalition, launched by
Mastercard and other founding partners,64 has
pledged to grow trees when customers makefinancial transactions with selected partners,
such as for public transport and when using their
Mastercard for travel, goods and services.
Improved talent attraction and retention
As sustainability increasingly becomes animportant decision factor for potential hires
and existing employees, investments inconservation and restoration can improve talentattraction and retention. Investing in forests can
support businesses to gain a hiring advantage,
particularly among millennials and Gen Z who
increasingly prioritize a business’s sustainability
commitments when deciding where to work. Some
61% of millennials think that “reducing its impact
on the environment” is one of the things that theircompanies are doing well. For millennial employees
who intend to stay in their jobs for five years or
more, this number is 22 percentage points higher,

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

19

1.6bnpeople depend on
forests for theirlivelihoods

suggesting that environmental leadership is at theheart of building employee loyalty.65 Beyond this,forest conservation and restoration investments
create opportunities for directly engaging
employees. For example, HP recently partneredwith the Arbor Day Foundation to grow a tree foreach of HP’s 55,000 employees, as part of its
target to grow 1 million trees by the end of 2020.66
AstraZeneca also introduced its global AZ Forest
programme in January 2020, which aims to grow
50 million trees by 2025 and complements treegrowing initiatives driven by employees.67
Improved relationship with businessand ecosystem partners
Investing in forest conservation andrestoration supports businesses to build
stronger relationships with their business andecosystem partners, including the communities
where they operate. Forest conservation andrestoration activities that benefit communities
and the environment can strengthen relationships
with other businesses while simultaneously
improving relationships with local communities,
governments and NGOs. Businesses that invest inforest conservation and restoration can transformtheir relationships with leading partners beyond
financial transactions, working together to achieveenvironmental and social impact and develop
sustainable markets. For example, Nestlé has
worked in partnership with its cocoa suppliers toprotect and restore the Cavally forest reserve inCôte d’Ivoire and enhance the resilience of local
communities.68 Further downstream in the value
chain, Walmart has committed to help protect,manage or restore at least 50 million acres of landand 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030. As
it seeks to meet this target, it is strengthening
relationships with its suppliers through its Project
Gigaton initiative, which enables suppliers to reportprogress on forest restoration efforts.69

Investing in forest conservation and restoration
offers an opportunity for businesses topromote social and economic inclusion within
the local communities where they operate.
More than 1.6 billion people, including around
200 million Indigenous peoples, depend on
forests for subsistence, livelihoods, employment
and income generation. The UN’s Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that
252 million people living in forests and savannahs
have incomes of less than $1.25 per day,70
placing forests at the heart of inclusive economic
development in many countries and communities.
Furthermore, Indigenous peoples and local
communities are some of the most effective
forest conservationists and stewards, investing an
estimated $1.71 billion in conserving their forestsin the developing world, which represents 16–23%
of forest conservation spending by all other public,
private, multilateral and philanthropic stakeholders.71
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses
can support a fair and just recovery by investing
in inclusive forest conservation and restoration
projects, bolstering their relationships withbusiness and ecosystem partners – including
Indigenous peoples and local communities. For
example, Salesforce has partnered with Global
Forest Generation on the Acción Andina projectin South America, which aims to enable local
and Indigenous communities to continue theirtraditional tree-planting festivals.72 Promoting socialand environmental inclusion through forests is
not limited to rural areas – in urban areas, richer
neighbourhoods tend to have greater urban forest
cover, creating positive environmental and healtheffects for residents in these areas. Recognizing theopportunity to support urban equity and promote
environmental outcomes, businesses such as
Bank of America are working with the Arbor Day
Foundation to increase the number of trees grownin low- and moderate-income neighbourhoods in
US cities.73

Investing in Forests: The Business Case20

3

Applying the businesscase to business types
This section showcases how different
types of businesses across a range ofsectors access strategic and commercial
opportunities by investing in forest
conservation and restoration.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case21

Different types of businesses can accessdifferent strategic and commercial opportunities
by investing in forest conservation andrestoration. Understanding how forests fit into eachcompany’s business model is critical to identify themost relevant emerging opportunities and maximize
the full market and environmental potential of forest
conservation and restoration.
––

Section 3.1 outlines opportunities forbusinesses that source their products
directly from trees and forests andbusinesses that are reliant on forest
ecosystem services or forest-risk
commodities. Relevant sectors might include
forestry, timber and non-timber forest products,
agriculture, consumer goods (e.g. food andbeverage, apparel, beauty and personal care),health and tourism.
–

Opportunity 1: Build business resilience tosupply and demand risks–

Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability
and growth (e.g. through agroforestry,sustainable timber management, sustainablenon-timber forest products and regenerative
business models)–

Opportunity 3: Improve relationships withbusiness, supply-chain and ecosystem
partners, including the communities wherebusinesses operate–

Section 3.2 outlines opportunities forbusinesses that have a relatively low direct
dependency on forests but have a strong
solutions-focused role to play in theirprotection. Relevant sectors might include
financial services (e.g. banking, private equity
and venture capital), technology, consulting andbusiness services, and insurance.
–

Opportunity 1: Build resilience to demandrisks through investing in forests as part of aportfolio-wide net-zero strategy–

Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability
and growth (e.g. through new technologicalinnovations and forest financing)–

Opportunity 3: Improve relationships withbusiness, value chain and ecosystem
partners, including the communities wherebusinesses operate

Section 3.3 outlines opportunities forbusinesses with high and hard-to-abate
greenhouse gas emissions. Relevant
sectors might include energy, transport (e.g.
aviation, shipping), construction, mining andmanufacturing (e.g. chemicals, cement andmetals).
–Opportunity 1: Build business resilience toregulatory, capital and demand risks–

Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability
and growth

Investing in Forests: The Business Case22

3.1 Opportunities for businesses with highdependency on forests
Particularly relevant for: businesses that source
their products directly from trees and forests;
businesses that are reliant on forest ecosystemservices (e.g. for pollination, water availability, soil
quality and stability) or are reliant on forest-risk

FIGURE 6

commodities (e.g. soya, palm oil, rubber, cocoa,
cattle etc.). Relevant sectors might include forestry,
timber and non-timber forest products, agriculture,
consumer goods (e.g. food and beverage, apparel,
beauty and personal care), health and tourism.

Why businesses with high dependency on forests invest in conservation
and restoration

Business resilience
Opportunity 1
Reduced supply risk
Protect value chains fromphysical effects of climatechange and loss of natural
capitalReduced demand risk
Respond to consumer
demand for action frombusinesses that depend on
forest products or services

Business profitability
and growth

Values-basedleadership

Opportunity 2

Opportunity 3

Increased profitability
and growth throughagroforestry, sustainabletimber management,sustainable non-timber forest
products and regenerative
business models

Improved relationships withpartners by designing andimplementing conservation
and restoration activities inpartnership with suppliers andcommunities

Opportunity 1: Build business resilience to supply
and demand risks
For businesses that depend on forest
ecosystems either for inputs or ecosystemservices, investing in forest conservation andrestoration is critical to build resilience to supply
risks. Sectors that source their products directlyfrom trees and forests, rely on forest ecosystemservices or depend on forest-risk commodities
are vulnerable to supply risks. High-dependency
businesses have an opportunity to implement
methods for more sustainable production
throughout their value chains. As part of thisbroader transition, reducing commodity-driven
deforestation and investing in forest conservation
and restoration is a cost-effective way for thesebusinesses to address unstable supply risks.
For example, PepsiCo recognized that severe
weather events, losses of ecosystem services
and an unsteady supply of certified sustainable
material have the potential to adversely affect its
value chain over the next one to three years.74 It
has since pledged to invest in forest conservation
and restoration as part of its broader strategies toreach net zero and avoid deforestation in its value
chains. Likewise, the APRIL Group, a leading pulp
and paper manufacturer, identified potential risks
to its timber supply due to forest fires in Indonesia.
As a result, it has developed the Fire Free Village
Program (FFVP) in Indonesia, working with local
communities to develop fire prevention programmes
and support sustainable forest management.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case23

Planting forest saplings along the Kinabatangan River in Sabah,
Malaysia, as part of Nestlé Malaysia’s RiLeaf reforestation programme.
Credit: Nestlé Malaysia

Investing in forests also supports highdependency businesses to build resilience
to demand risks. Consumers are demanding
action from businesses that depend on forests,
creating an opportunity for businesses to safeguard
these relationships by investing in forests andthe communities who depend on them. L’Oréal
identified that a lack of strong management on
forest-related issues could damage its brand value,
putting more than $180 million, around 1% of its
operating expenses in 2018, at risk.75 In addition
to its avoided deforestation commitments, L’Oréal
created a Fund for Nature Regeneration, a €50
million ($60m) impact investing initiative that aims
to restore more than 1 million hectares of damaged
marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Similarly,
Iberostar, a global tourism and hotel group,
recognized the importance of supporting coastal
forest conservation and restoration to safeguard
its brand value against demand risks. In response,
in 2019, Iberostar began a mangrove restoration
project at its Bávaro resort in Punta Cana,
Dominican Republic, and plans to protect 56,000
hectares of mangroves or other coastal forests overthe next 10 years.76
Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability andgrowth (e.g. through agroforestry, sustainabletimber management, sustainable non-timber forest
products, and regenerative business models)Investing in forest conservation and restoration
creates direct opportunities for somebusinesses to increase their supply-chain
profitability through agroforestry approaches.
Businesses can incorporate agroforestry
approaches within value chains, alongside robust
procurement practices that avoid deforestation.
Adopting agroforestry practices within value chains
can reduce and prevent environmental degradation,
increase yields and generate a more stable supplyof raw materials, increasing long-term profitability.77
Businesses such as Nestlé (see Case study 1),
Unilever, Mars and Danone have already started towork with their suppliers to grow trees on the farms
where raw materials are grown and harvested.78
These types of investments can improve local
livelihoods, offer shade – thus benefiting the watertable – and improve the quality of soil where crops
are grown and harvested, thereby improving
yields. Improved farm yields and livelihoods reducepressure to expand into forest areas, protecting
forests from future risks of deforestation.
Investing in sustainable forest management
makes business sense. Sustainable forest
management for timber, pulp and paper
products could create $165 billion in additional
annual revenue by 2030.79 In the forestry sector,
businesses earned an extra $1.80 annually forevery cubic metre of Forest Stewardship Council

Investing in Forests: The Business Case24

CASE STUDY 1

Nestlé – transitioning from avoided deforestation to positive action for forests
Description: Nestlé is a multinational food anddrink processing company, headquartered in
Vevey, Switzerland
Number of employees: More than 270,00084
Approach: To mitigate potential supply anddemand risks, Nestlé is evolving from an avoided
deforestation strategy to a more proactive
approach that incorporates forest restoration andconservation within and across its value chains.
While avoiding deforestation remains a criticalpriority, Nestlé is focusing on conservation andrestoration efforts linked with its value chains(as opposed to an “offsetting” approach). The
company works with some of its supply-chain
partners to grow trees on their farms or in the
nearby landscapes through agroforestry initiatives
or forest restoration projects. For example, in its
cocoa value chain, Nestlé will distribute 2.8 million
shade trees by 2022 in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana,and will train its farmers in how to implement
agroforestry practices. These trees will provide
vital ecosystem services for its cocoa plantations,
including shade and improved soil health, while
supporting Nestlé to build resilience to key
risks. In addition, Nestlé has partnered with thegovernment of Côte d’Ivoire to protect and restore
the Cavally forest reserve. This CHF 2.5 million($2.7m) investment will fund the restoration of
degraded forest areas within the reserve and also
support efforts to end deforestation, by promoting
sustainable cocoa production.
In other value chains, Nestlé adopts a more
active approach to forest conservation. In Aceh,
Indonesia, where it sources its palm oil, Nestlé

By increasing
demand forsustainable
forest products,
businesses canincrease the valueof standing trees
and drive further
investment into
forest restorationand sustainable
forest management(FSC)-certified roundwood or equivalent production
due to price premiums, increased efficiency andother financial incentives.80 For example, Suzano, aBrazilian pulp and paper business, has recognizedthat by adopting a planting model that intersperses
native forest with planted eucalyptus (see details
in Case study 2), it can reduce its costs, as amore diverse ecosystem will naturally provide forand support pest control, water cycles, climate
regulation and other ecosystem services.
High-dependency businesses can use
sustainable non-timber forest products,
thereby creating and capturing new market
opportunities. The Brazilian manufacturer ofbeauty and personal care products Natura & Co
has expanded its product offering by extracting
butter from the seeds of the threatened ucuuba
tree and using this butter in its lotions and soaps.
Following Natura & Co’s investments, ucuuba butter
is now three times more valuable than ucuuba
wood, reducing the number of ucuuba trees thatare felled annually. As a result, the ucuuba is nolonger on the list of endangered species.81 Somebusinesses have even designed regenerative

has publicly disclosed its “forest footprint”,
which outlines the forests and communities that
could be affected by its value chain.85 Nestlé isplanning to use this analysis to design future active
conservation interventions to enable long-term
protection of the forests in this region.
Key principles for supporting forests withinvalue chain :9 Recognize that avoiding deforestation isessential and that active conservation andrestoration activities are necessary to reinforce
efforts to eliminate deforestation from value
chains9 Identify and conserve areas at future risk of
deforestation, degradation and land conflict
9 Embed forest conservation and restoration
activities within a holistic approach to develop
sustainable landscapes, supporting sustainable
livelihoods and protection of human rights,
in particular those of local communities andIndigenous peoples
9 Work with NGOs, governments and othersectors to ensure local land rights forsmallholders and communities
9 Ensure full community engagement in thedesign and implementation of conservation andrestoration activities, and promote communitybased management models to ensure longterm forest protection and restoration
9 Support and fund long-termmonitoring approaches and tools to
track progress, address setbacks
and demonstrate permanencebusiness models to support forests and seize newmarket opportunities. Redesigning business models
to shift to regenerative businesses represents
new growth opportunities. For example, Guayakí,a beverage business, has built a market in the
United States selling beverages made from yerbamate grown in restored Atlantic rainforests.82 By
increasing demand for sustainable forest products,
businesses can increase the value of standing trees
and drive further investment into forest restorationand sustainable forest management.
Opportunity 3: Improve relationships with business,value chain and ecosystem partners, including thecommunities where businesses operate
By committing to conserve and restore forests,
businesses that are dependent on forests canstrengthen their relationships with suppliersand communities. For example, Bunge Loders
Croklaan, a specialty oil and fats business, has
opened a shea butter processing plant in Ghana,supporting the conservation of the shea nut
landscape in the region and providing employment
for local communities.83

Investing in Forests: The Business Case25

CASE STUDY 2

Suzano – transforming business operations for forests
Description: Suzano is a Brazilian pulp andpaper company with a presence in more than 80
countries
Number of employees: Over 37,00086
Approach: Recognizing that its business isentirely dependent on diverse forest ecosystems
and that the services provided by theseecosystems can increase its profitability, Suzano
has directly invested in forest conservation andrestoration within its core business operations
for the past 30 years. Suzano has invested in
active restoration, adopting a “mosaic system”
of planting, where it grows native vegetationinterspersed with eucalyptus plantations on
degraded land, and has set aside 900,000
hectares for permanent conservation,
representing 40% of its total land. By adopting
this mosaic planting model, Suzano creates
greater commercial value through the services
provided by a more diverse ecosystem while also
removing atmospheric carbon and increasing
biodiversity, benefiting local communities.
In addition, it has introduced new financial
structures and technologies to support its
conservation and restoration work. Suzano is thefirst business based outside Europe to issue asustainability-linked bond tied to a climate target.

Alongside this, it has invested in technology totest new ways to support forest monitoring. For
example, it has partnered with Viçosa Federal
University to monitor forest restoration throughimages obtained by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)and light detection and ranging (lidar) technologies.
Key principles for supporting forests withincore business operations:
9 Recognize that the benefits ofconservation and restoration go far
beyond environmental outcomes andare both business critical and urgent
9 Always develop and implement projects inpartnership, working with diverse stakeholder
groups including NGOs, universities,
governments and local communities
9 Build and maintain collaborative relationships
with local communities beyond the process ofbuying and selling products
9 Stay focused on results in terms ofclimate, nature and social benefits,
not on activities completed
9 Invest in monitoring methods and tools toprotect forests from illegal logging and improvethe effectiveness of conservation activities

Example of the mosaic system concept: Suzano’s integrated managementof natural areas for biodiversity, water and eucalyptus plantations.
Credit: Suzano

Investing in Forests: The Business Case26

3.2 Opportunities for businesses
with low dependency on forests
Particularly relevant for: Businesses with a relatively low direct dependency on forests, yetstrong solutions-focused potential e.g. financial services (banking, private equity and venture
capital etc.), technology, consulting and business services, and insurance.

FIGURE 7

Why businesses with low dependency on forests invest in conservation and restoration

Business resilience
Opportunity 1
Reduced demand risk
by keeping up withcompetitors who are making
strong progress against
net-zero targets

Business profitability
and growth

Values-basedleadership

Opportunity 2

Opportunity 3

Increased profitability
and growth by developing
products to enable more
effective forest conservation
and restoration

Increased customer trust
Improved talent attraction
and retention
Improved relationships withbusiness partners andecosystem partners

Opportunity 1: Build resilience to demand risks
through investing in forests as part of a portfolio-wide
net-zero strategy

Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability andgrowth (e.g. through new technological innovations
and forest financing)Forest conservation and restoration, as part ofa broader portfolio focused on avoiding andreducing emissions and impact on nature, cansupport businesses with low dependency on
forests to keep up with their competitors andreduce demand risks. Many businesses in these
sectors have already introduced and reached boldtargets for action on climate change and nature
loss. The full sectors will need to adapt quickly tokeep up or risk lower demand from customers.
For example, in the technology sector, Microsoft
and its subsidiary LinkedIn have committed to
become carbon negative by 2030. To reach thistarget, Microsoft is funding forest conservation
and restoration projects through an open request
for proposal (RFP) for carbon removals and has
committed to replace each tree removed during
the construction of data centres, aiming for a 3:1
replacement ratio.87 Likewise, Apple has partneredwith Conservation International to protect andrestore natural ecosystems such as a mangrove
forest of 11,000 hectares in Cispatá Bay, Colombia,
quantifying blue carbon credits in both trees andsoil, which is expected to store 1 million tons of CO2
over its lifetime.88 In their transitions to net zero, lowdependency businesses can also directly reduce
their carbon footprints through forests by replacing
carbon-intensive materials with sustainable masstimber in new buildings and infrastructure (e.g. incompany headquarters).

Businesses with low direct dependencies onforests have exciting opportunities to enter newmarkets through developing digital innovations
to support forest conservation and restoration.
For instance, the technology sector can develop
new digital tools and innovations that support
the sourcing and monitoring of conservation andrestoration projects, e.g. geospatial mapping,satellite and drone data, sensors and dataprocessing. In one example, Pachama, atechnology start-up, is combining satellite, drone
and lidar scans of forests with machine-learningalgorithms to assess the carbon storage potentialof forests and detect any changes in canopy
cover.89 Larger businesses are also developing
new products to support forests. Ecosia, an online
search engine that uses 80% of its profits to growtrees, has seen a six-fold increase in its number ofusers over the past six years and its revenues havegrown by 2,220% since January 2015.90 Google
collaborated with the World Resources Institute tolaunch Global Forest Watch, an online monitoring
platform tracking deforestation, which is integrating
high-resolution monthly data made available
following a grant from the Norwegian International
Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI).91 Google is also
supporting the infrastructure of Restor, an open
data platform of ecological insights for the global
restoration movement. Likewise, Salesforce also
supports the development of Restor, as well as
Investing in Forests: The Business Case27

CASE STUDY 3

Salesforce – developing technology for trees
Description: Salesforce is a cloud computing
service as a software (SaaS) company,
headquartered in San Francisco, USA–

Use its global influence and networks tosupport forest-focused partnerships andpolicies: As one of the founding partners of
1t.org, Salesforce has used its global networks
to drive action on forests. It also has an active
policy team that is advocating for policies toprotect and restore nature.

–

Directly fund forest conservation andrestoration projects: Salesforce has directly
funded forest conservation and restoration
initiatives, partnering with environmentalorganizations around the world – including
Global Forest Generation, the Arbor Day
Foundation and American Forests.

Number of employees: More than 50,000
employees globally
Approach: Salesforce is planning to grow 100
million trees over the next decade as part of its
ambition to “do well and do good”. Salesforce
recognizes that its business should create
value for all stakeholders, including the planet,
employees, customers and local communities,
not just its shareholders. To support this objective,
Salesforce is using its existing skills, influence andemployee base to support forest conservation
and restoration, while also directly funding forest
conservation and restoration projects. Its key
approaches include:––

Use technology assets to support forests:
Salesforce technology has been used todevelop UpLink, a new, global digital platform
to crowdsource innovations that accelerate thedelivery of the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) – including 1t.org’s trillion trees
challenges.97 It has also launched its own digitaltree tracker at trees.salesforce.com to monitor
progress against its 100 million tree ambition.
Use employees: Salesforce has used its
employee base to support forest conservation
and restoration through matching donations
to double the impact of employee donations
to tree organizations and organizing businesswide volunteering events focused on tree andforest projects in local communities.

Key principles for successfully using existingskills and assets to support forests:
9 Identify where relevant product, policy orenvironmental expertise sits within the business
9 Develop systems and structures to enable
collaboration and coordination across different
business units to create shared value, e.g.
coordination between product development
teams and sustainability teams
9 Engage employees throughout forest
conservation and restoration activities,
raising global awareness of the importance of
supporting forests
9 Work closely with other business andecosystem partners, including local
communities, to achieve systemic change,
beyond individual corporate targets

LiDAR, satellite and AI applied to analyze a forest
in the northeast of the United States.
Credit: Pachama

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

28

80%

of Ecosia’s profits
are dedicated to
growing trees

CASE STUDY 4

of UpLink, a digital platform to crowdsource new
innovations that advance the delivery of the UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – including
1t.org’s trillion trees challenges (see Case study 3).

this challenge, investors can prioritize projects thatmix long-term and short-term cash flows, such asagroforestry models that can generate short-term
revenues through the sale of tree products.

Businesses with low direct dependencies onforests can play a critical role in unlocking
financing for forests through new financial
products, while divesting from companies
that contribute to climate change or drive
deforestation. Some financial services businesses
such as Rabobank (see Case study 4), JP Morgan
Chase & Co., Bank of America92 and Goldman
Sachs93 are developing new product offerings toencourage financing for forest conservation andrestoration or directly investing in new businesses
that support forest conservation and restoration. For
example, JP Morgan Chase & Co. has developed
its Action Bond programme to support reforestation
initiatives and has recently committed to financeand facilitate more than $1 trillion in green financing
worldwide over the next 10 years through blended
finance and green bonds.94,95 By developing forestrelated financial products, businesses can expand
their product offerings and build relationships withnew clients. However, financial sector investments
in restoration and conservation have been limited todate, due to concerns about the long-term horizon
and low liquidity of these investments. To mitigate

Opportunity 3: Increase values-based leadership,
strengthening relationships with customers,
employees and partners
Businesses that are less dependent on forests
within their core operations have an opportunity
to align their business values with those of
their customers, employees and partners. Manybusinesses are building customer trust by engaging
them directly on forest conservation and restoration.
For example, Mastercard and its partners launched
the Priceless Planet Coalition (see Case study 5),
which now has more than 30 members across thefinancial sector and supports customers to donate
to forest conservation and restoration projects.
Aspiration Bank has introduced the Plant yourChange programme that enables customers toautomatically invest their spare change to grow a tree
by rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar.96
Across sectors, businesses are directly engaging theiremployees by supporting forest conservation andrestoration activities. For example, businesses ranging
from BNP Paribas to HP have invested in forest
restoration, funding trees for their employees as gifts.

Rabobank – financing for forests through AGRI3
Description: Rabobank is a Dutchcooperative bank, with an international
focus on food and agriculture

producer will invest in reforesting 90 hectares offorest around sugar cane production areas andwill also maintain a nursery of native seedlings.

Number of employees: More than 43,00098

Key principles for successfully launching new
financial products to support forests:

Approach: Recognizing customer demand fromfood and agricultural businesses to transition tomore sustainable agricultural practices, Rabobank
and the UN Environment Programme havepartnered to create a $150 million guarantee
fund, the Agri3 Fund. This fund aims to de-riskloans and investments that financial banking
partners plan to make in agriculture value chainsto a total amount of $1 billion. This should
help financial institutions to provide loan tenor
extensions, larger-size loans and subordinate loans– alongside technical assistance. In particular,
the initiative will support transactions that halt
deforestation and increase forest restoration, as
well as furthering rural livelihoods. For example,
in Brazil, the Agri3 Fund is currently supportinga sugar and ethanol producer to transition tosustainable production of sugar cane. As part ofthe BRL 50 million 10-year facility ($8.8m), the9 Recognize the commercial value of engaging
with businesses seeking capital for forest
conservation and restoration
9 Recognize the commercial value of developing
proof-of-concept financial products now, in
preparation for potential longer-term transitions
and rapid scale-up in product portfolios
9 Build strong public-private partnerships
to enable business to enter newforest financing markets
9 Build internal buy-in within organization,
developing clear ways to explain the similarities
and differences between processes forenvironment/forest-focused financial products
compared to traditional product offerings

Investing in Forests: The Business Case29

Sugar cane and forest corridors in Brazil,
financed by Rabobank through the AGRI3 Fund.
Credit: Rabobank

CASE STUDY 5

Mastercard and the Priceless Planet Coalition – working together for trees
Description: Mastercard is a multinational financial
services business headquartered in New York, USA

Key principles for successful partnerships to
support forests:

Number of employees: More than 20,00099

9 Understand the limits of the business expertise
and work with experienced and reputableenvironmental partners to ensure that projects
are designed and implemented to the highestquality standards

Approach: Mastercard has launched the PricelessPlanet Coalition and committed with its partners to
restore 100 million trees over the next five years.
More than 30 partner organizations across thefinancial sector have joined the coalition to achieve
this goal. The coalition is also running campaigns toengage consumers to contribute, with “round-up’’campaigns that allow consumers to donate to plant
trees at the point-of-sale. Mastercard corporate
customers can also contribute every time employees
use their cards for travel, goods or services.
Mastercard will work in partnership with
Conservation International and the World
Resources Institute, two environmental NGOs, todesign, implement and monitor forest restoration
projects that create triple benefits for the climate,biodiversity and local communities. The coalition iscurrently focused on forest restoration locations in
Kenya, Brazil and Australia, and plans to expand toother regions in the years to come.

9 Seize untapped opportunities to engage
customers on the subject of forests to achieve
impact at scale and raise global awareness of
the importance of conservation and restoration
9 Focus on projects that deliver triple benefits forclimate, biodiversity and local communities
9 Recognize the operational efficiencies ofworking with other businesses to support
forests, through the creation of centralized
programme infrastructure
9 Attract new partners by ensuring strong
commitment to selecting large-scale andhigh-quality projects, with the ability to deliver
climate, biodiversity and community benefits

Investing in Forests: The Business Case30

3.3 Opportunities for businesses withhigh greenhouse gas emissions
Particularly relevant for: sectors that face challenges with high greenhousegas (GHG) emissions, e.g. energy, transport (e.g. aviation, shipping), mining,
construction and manufacturing (e.g. chemicals, cement and metals).

FIGURE 8

Why businesses with high greenhouse gas emissions invest in conservation and restoration

Business resilience
Opportunity 1
Reduced regulatory risk
While avoiding and reducing
their emissions as a priority,businesses can stay aheadof new regulations by
mitigating their emissions
in the short term

Business profitability
and growth
Opportunity 2
Increased profitability
and growth through shaping
new markets

Reduced capital anddemand risk
Businesses can respond toinvestor and consumer
pressure to mitigate theirresidual emissions as part ofa broader net-zero strategy

Opportunity 1: Build business resilience to regulatory,
capital and demand risks

Opportunity 2: Increase business profitability
and growth

For businesses that face challenges with highgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, investing inforest conservation and restoration can form partof a broader net-zero strategy, building resilience
to regulatory, capital and demand risks. Businesses
that make the most significant contributions to GHG
emissions globally are under increasing pressure
from governments, customers and investors to
reduce their emissions. Many governments plan
to implement binding GHG emissions targets andrestrict or tax emissions. Similarly, investors globally
are increasingly calling on these businesses to reduce
their emissions and plan to reduce or exit investmentswith high carbon exposures. While industry players
acknowledge that they need to avoid and reduce
their emissions as a priority, there will remain aneed in the short and medium term to mitigate theiremissions. To compensate for their residual emissions,businesses ranging from oil and gas companies to theairline industry have funded forest conservation andrestoration through voluntary projects such as REDD+.

This focus on achieving net zero applies not
only to businesses themselves, but also totheir customers and investors, which creates
the potential for new markets and associatedbusiness opportunities. Recognizing the businesspotential associated with investing in forests, Shell,
Total and BP have started to invest in nature-based
solutions (NBS). Total’s NBS business unit is working
on a project in South America to create a sustainablecocoa value chain based on agroforestry. This
project will support the creation of a new sustainable
market and is estimated to avoid more than 15
million tons of CO2e over 10 years.100 Likewise, Shellis building a carbon sequestration asset base byacquiring businesses such as Select Carbon, whichinvests in forests and other natural ecosystems
throughout Australia (see Case Study 6).

Investing in Forests: The Business Case31

CASE STUDY 6

Shell – Forest conservation and restoration to compensate for residual emissions
Description: Shell is a multinational oil and gas
company headquartered in the Netherlands
Number of employees: More than 80,000101
Approach: Shell has committed to invest in forest
conservation and restoration as part of its target
to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.102 This
includes Shell’s direct and indirect emissions fromits operations associated with the production
and processing of energy products (Scope 1 and
2) and its emissions from the use of the energy
products that it sells (Scope 3). Within its broader
net-zero strategy, Shell plans to invest around$100 million a year in nature-based solutions to
mitigate its residual emissions, adopting the policyof “avoid, reduce and then mitigate”.103 As part ofthis portfolio approach, Shell is co-developing andinvesting direct equity in forest conservation andrestoration projects worldwide. It is also purchasing
high-quality carbon credits from projects that
support forest conservation and restoration,
ensuring that projects are certified under highquality and independent standards.104

Key principles for successful investments:
9 Work with customers to understand how forest
conservation and restoration can benefit them
9 Select projects that are certified under highquality and independent carbon accreditation
standards only
9 Prioritize projects that deliver wider
environmental and social benefits beyond
emissions compensations, such as conserving
biodiversity and supporting employment for
local communities
9 Increase transparency and rigour
through third-party audits for projectscreening and selection and ensure
robust project monitoring processes
9 Ensure full collaboration with local communities
and partners through robust stakeholder
mapping and extensive engagement

Planting saplings to preserve andextend the Glengarry forest, UK.
Credit: Shell

Investing in Forests: The Business Case32

4

From opportunities
to impact
This section outlines the key steps forbusinesses to seize opportunities associatedwith forest conservation and restorationand how businesses can ensure that theirinvestments deliver long-term impact.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case33

Recognizing the economic benefits, anincreasing number of leading businesses areembedding forest conservation and restoration
within their models and strategies. Having
identified opportunities to build resilience, seize
new growth and profitability opportunities andstrengthen business leadership, more businesses
across sectors are now moving beyond corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic

approaches. Forward-looking businesses
recognize that opportunities to engage with forest
conservation and restoration often sit acrossdifferent business units, including sourcing andsupply-chain management, product development,
real estate, marketing and CSR. Effective businessaction on forests will involve collaboration acrossthese different areas to embed forest conservation
and restoration at the core of business operations.

4.1 Investment pathways for businesses
There are three main pathways that businesses
can take now to seize opportunities associatedwith forest conservation and restoration:
1. Identify opportunities to support forest
conservation and restoration within existing
business operations and value chains.
Avoiding deforestation remains a critical priority,
but businesses can go further and secure
new economic opportunities by investing inforest conservation and restoration within their
existing business operations and value chains.
Businesses that rely directly on forest products
and services as core business inputs can adopt
sustainable forest management approaches,and regenerative business practices such assustainable agroforestry. For example, in its
cocoa value chain, Nestlé will distribute 2.8
million shade trees by 2022 in Côte d’Ivoire
and Ghana (see Case study 1). Businesses
that are less directly reliant on forests haveopportunities to identify business areas thatinterface with forests in their value chain.
For example, almost all businesses rely on
construction in some way (e.g. their company
headquarters) and so have opportunities tosupport forest restoration by substituting
carbon-intensive materials for sustainable
mass timber in their buildings. The following
list of practices demonstrates how to invest
in forest conservation and restoration within
existing business operations and value chains:–

Analyse supply-chain and business
operations to identify dependencies onforests and risks of future forest impacts–

Identify the greatest opportunities
for forest conservation and restoration
to create shared value (e.g. reduced
GHG emissions, increased biodiversity,
reduced costs, increased revenues,
improved livelihoods, equity)–

Co-design project concept withdiverse partners, including local
governments, non-governmental andcivil society organizations, Indigenous
peoples and broader communities–

Identify priority locations and typesof action (e.g. conservation, restoration,
growing new trees and forests, enabling
actions), aligning with global methodologies
and planning to grow the right trees in theright way and in the right places (see section
4.2 on Key principles below)–

Apply appropriate ecological and social
safeguards to maximize positive impacts on
climate, nature and communities–

Adopt relevant and credible projectcertification standards (e.g. carbon credit
standards, forest management certification,
sustainability standards)–

Quantify costs and analyse financing
and investment options for project
activities, accounting for transaction
costs, establishment costs, and costs forongoing project management and long-termmonitoring–

Implement project in partnership withlocal communities, supply-chain actors,
technical and local experts–

Monitor, report and verify results on anannual basis, if not more frequently, withlong-term tracking to ensure permanence

2. Identify how to use existing skills and/or assets to support forest conservation
and restoration and move towards along-term business model that goesbeyond net zero. Businesses have many
assets that they can use to directly support
forest conservation and restoration:–

New products: Businesses can use theirskills and product knowledge to introduce
new products that can support effective
forest conservation and restoration such as
new technological tools to enhance forest
monitoring. Businesses can also support thedevelopment and enhancement of sustainable
forest product value chains that enableeffective forest conservation and restoration.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

34

The learning
trajectory of eachcompany is unique,and failures are anatural part of theprocess. Thesecan be limited byfollowing principles
that are groundedin the collective
experience ofother companies,
science andsystems of local
knowledge

BOX 4

–

Advocacy and influence: Businesses
can use their influence with governments,
investors and other businesses toencourage action on forest conservation andrestoration, e.g. Salesforce’s policy teamthat is advocating for policies to protect andrestore nature (see Case study 3)–

Finance: Businesses can support the creationof new financial mechanisms to fund forest
conservation and restoration globally, e.g.
Rabobank’s Agri3 fund (see Case study 4)–

Partnerships: Many businesses haveextensive networks and partnershipsthat they can use to bring together
diverse skills and capabilities to support
forest conservation and restoration, e.g.
Mastercard and the Priceless Planet
Coalition (see Case study 5)–

Customer base: By engaging their customers
on forest conservation and restoration,businesses can increase global awarenessof the importance of forests and amplify theirimpact while building customer trust–

Employees: Through employee engagement
on forests, such as employee tree-growing
initiatives, businesses can increase thefinancial and human resources dedicatedto forest conservation and restoration, whilebuilding a positive business culture thatembraces sustainability
3. Identify opportunities to fund forest
conservation and restoration outside value
chains to achieve strategic objectives, e.g.
compensating for residual emissions. Whiledecarbonizing business value chains, businesses
can achieve further progress towards net-zerogoals by supporting forest conservation andrestoration projects or jurisdictional approaches
that remove carbon while benefiting nature.
Some businesses may choose to co-develop
and co-implement forest conservation andrestoration projects, working in partnership with
implementing partners and local communities toensure that projects are grounded in technicaland local expertise. Others may choose to
donate to existing projects or purchase carbon
credits from verified suppliers. When screening
and selecting potential forest conservation andrestoration projects, businesses need to ensurethat they are certified under high-quality andindependent carbon credit standards and meet
appropriate forest management standards (seesection 4.2 Key principles and Box 4). Effective
investments also require rigorous monitoring andreporting strategies, with long-term tracking toensure forest permanence.

Carbon credit certification standards
Some businesses may want to generateor purchase carbon credits by investing inforest conservation, restoration and avoided
deforestation. In 2010, natural climate
solutions accounted for 5% of carbon
credits. They now account for around 40%
and are expected to become the leading
solution within the next couple of years.105
There are many internationally recognized
standards for forest conservation and restoration
projects, creating opportunities for businesses

to select carbon credits certification standards
according to their project needs. However, facedwith such a multiplicity, businesses may feel
uncertain about the comparative quality of credits
supplied. While work is ongoing to improve andsimplify the scale and architecture of carbon
markets,106 some commonly used and reputable
standards include Gold Standard, Verified Carbon
Standard (VCS), Climate Action Reserve, American
Carbon Registry, Plan Vivo and ART TREES(Architecture for REDD+ Transactions – the REDD+
Environmental Excellence Standard).

4.2 Key principles for successful investments inforest conservation and restoration
Across all actions, successful business
investments in conservation and restorationalign with existing global standards. Following
guiding principles such as those of forest landscaperestoration and adopting sustainable forest
management standards confirm that forests arebeing managed in sustainable ways that preserve
biodiversity and benefit local communities. When
adopting forest management standards, it isimportant to use the most robust certifications(e.g. Forest Stewardship Council), while also going
beyond the minimum requirements imposed bythese certifications, ensuring greater producttraceability and transparency. Businesses havean opportunity to support certification schemes
to develop more demanding and robust criteria,
which provide full assurance of sustainable
forest management. The International Union
Investing in Forests: The Business Case35

for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has also
released the Global Standard for Nature-Based
Solutions, which provides clear parameters
for defining nature-based solutions and acommon framework to monitor progress.
By adopting the following principles,companies can ensure that their investments
in forests successfully generate businessvalue while supporting nature, climate andlocal communities. For companies new to forest
investments, much can be learned from following
tried-and-tested principles. The learning trajectoryof each company is unique, and failures are anatural part of the process. These can be limited
by following principles that are grounded in thecollective experience of other companies, scienceand systems of local knowledge to achieve both
short- and long-term impact.
––

PROTECT existing forests and enable
natural forest regrowth: Businesses recognizethat halting deforestation and protecting
remaining forests is a priority. Forest protection
or restoration in one region should not be used
as a reason to degrade or destroy naturalforests elsewhere. Existing old-growth forests
are vast long-term carbon sinks, and provide
habitat for supporting biodiversity, including
seed dispersers and pollinators. Old-growthforests are also a repository for bio-innovation in
the search for new drugs or novel materials. Of
the over 80,000 tree species, less than 1% havebeen studied for potential use,107 yet at least
26% of known tree species are threatened withextinction.108 Protecting existing forests globallyis essential to capture the full environmental,
carbon and market benefits of forests. Likewise,
natural forest regrowth on protected land istypically less expensive and more effective thangrowing new trees.109 Effectively enabling naturalregeneration requires regular monitoring toensure permanence.
PARTNER with local communities,
governments, NGOs and other businesses:
Businesses co-develop and implement projects
with local partners, communities and Indigenous
peoples to ensure that forest conservation andrestoration activities are effective, build upon
local community knowledge of forests, andprotect local land-use rights. Conflicting goals
and expectations between local communities
and project managers and lack of community

involvement are the most common reasons why
forest restoration and conservation projects
fail. Collaborations and alliances between
businesses are also essential to make thesystemic changes required to embed forest
conservation and restoration within theirbusiness models. Businesses may not always
get it right as they seek to deliver against
ambitious goals but by learning from eachother, apparent failures can be transformed into
valuable lessons across businesses. By working
in partnership with other businesses, experts,
partners and local communities, businesses
amplify their impact on forests around the world.
–

PREVENT greenhouse gas emissions
and nature loss as a priority: Businesses
identify opportunities to avoid and reduce
emissions within their existing operations as apriority. Where emissions cannot be avoided
or reduced, businesses can mitigate themthrough investments in forest conservation
and restoration in the short and medium term.
Likewise, businesses anticipate and prevent
adverse impacts on nature and biodiversity
within their operations. Halting deforestation invalue chains is a vital priority for businesses tosafeguard their interests against the risks posedby the climate and nature crises. Investments
in forest conservation and restoration should
be additional and complement these broader
strategies, supporting businesses to move fromdoing no harm to having a net-positive impact
on nature, biodiversity and forests.

–

PRIORITIZE projects that deliverenvironmental and social benefits: Forest
conservation and restoration projects achieveenvironmental benefits such as increasing
biodiversity, improving soil health and fresh watersupplies, and regulating climates. Concurrently,
projects deliver social benefits from supporting
local livelihoods to providing improved mental
health and well-being, and ensuring equitablebenefits for target groups such as women or
youth within local communities.110 To achieve
impact, businesses set clear goals upfront on
the mix of environmental and social indicators
their project prioritizes, with milestones
through each stage of implementation to
track progress and make adjustments basedon learnings. Some indicators are tracked
to avoid unintended harm, while others
validate the intended project outcomes.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

36–

FIGURE 9

PLAN for growing the right trees in the right
way and in the right regions: Businesses selectthe right regions and trees for forest restoration
or growing new trees to ensure climate resilienceand permanence of new forests in the long term.
Growing trees and forests in areas that werepreviously forested but are now degraded canbenefit biodiversity and carbon storage, as well as
reducing the risk of desertification in at-risk areas.
Businesses should typically refrain from growing
new trees in areas that replace other natural

habitats such as grasslands or wetlands, as this
could drive a net increase in carbon emissions.111
Beyond this, businesses must understand andrespect local land-use rights. When supporting
forest restoration, businesses need to plan togrow a mix of species, prioritizing native species
and avoiding invasive species. Beyond this,planning to grow trees and forests, and therefore
investing in monitoring methods and applying
long-term approaches, rather than just planting
seedlings, is critical to ensure long-term impact.

Key principles for successful corporate engagement on forest conservation and restoration

Effective forest
conservation andrestoration

Protect

Plan

Businesses protect
existing forests and enable
natural forest regrowthBusinesses plan for growing
the right trees in the right
way and in the right regions

PartnerBusinesses partner with local
communities, governments,
NGOs and other businesses
Prevent

Prioritize
Businesses prioritize
projects that deliverenvironmental andsocial benefits

Businesses prevent GHG
emissions and natureloss as a priority

Investing in Forests: The Business Case37

4.3 Advancing the forest conservation andrestoration movement
Businesses
can shape thegrowing movement
by working in
partnershipwith diverse
stakeholders,
to share theirexperiences andto learn fromthem about goodpractices and tools
across locations

Momentum around forest conservation
and restoration will continue to build andbusinesses are uniquely positioned to amplify
this momentum. As business leaders become
increasingly aware of the environmental andsocial benefits of investing in forest conservation
and restoration, more businesses are set toembed forests within their approaches. With
the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem
Restoration, momentum is also building
among consumers, employees, governments
and NGOs. By making public commitments,
and communicating with their customers andinvestors, businesses can build further momentum
to protect and restore forests globally.
Businesses have a unique opportunity tocontribute to building and shaping newmarkets around forest conservation andrestoration. Businesses have an opportunity tosupport standardization in terms of guidelines andcertification, addressing gaps in awareness of how

BOX 5

to ensure that forest conservation and restoration
activities are effective. Businesses can shape thegrowing movement by working in partnership withdiverse stakeholders, to share their experiences
and to learn from them about good practices andtools across locations. Effective project sourcing andmonitoring is also a challenge, creating an opportunity
for businesses to support the development ofintegrated systems for data and information sharing
on restoration efforts. Platforms such as 1t.org
and its Corporate Alliance play a role in connecting
actors from across the sector and across regions.
Joining and strengthening these platforms is criticalto avoid isolated approaches. Beyond this, there
are opportunities for businesses to help aligngovernment-led efforts with those of the private
sector to ensure seamless action on the ground.
Conserving, restoring and growing a trillion trees
by 2030 is an ambitious goal that businesses
can help achieve while accelerating their valuecreation strategies.

1t.org, the trillion trees platform
1t.org is a multistakeholder platform serving
a global movement to conserve, restore andgrow 1 trillion trees by 2030. As part of theWorld Economic Forum’s work to accelerate
nature-based solutions and in support of the
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 1t.org is
driving systems change by mobilizing the private
sector, facilitating multistakeholder partnerships
in key regions and supporting innovation andecopreneurship on the ground.

1t.org curates the 1t.org Corporate Alliance,a cross-industry community of businesses
committed to exercising leadership and integrity
in forest conservation and restoration and invites
interested companies to join the movement andmake a pledge towards forest conservation andrestoration.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

38

Table of referenceThis table summarizes the companies that are mentioned in this reportalong with the relevant pages that detail their approaches to investingin forest restoration and conservation.

SectorCompany

Page

Aviation, travel andtourism

Iberostar

24

Bunge Loders Croklaan

25

Danone24

Guayakí25

L’Oréal

24

Mars

24

Natura & Co

25

Nestlé

11, 20, 24,
25, 34PepsiCo

23

REI

11

tentree

Consumerand retail goods

CompanyPage

ASN Bank

15

Aspiration Bank

29

Bank of America

11, 16,20, 29

BNP Paribas

29

Goldman Sachs

29

JP Morgan & Chase Co

29

Mastercard

11, 19, 29
30, 35

Rabobank

11, 29, 35

Storebrand15

AstraZeneca

20

14

Amazon11

Unilever

24

Apple

11, 27

Walmart20

Ecosia28

Zalando

14

Google28

HP11, 20, 28

Microsoft (and its
subsidiary LinkedIn)

27

Pachama27

Salesforce

11, 20, 28
29, 34

McDonald’s

16

APRIL Group23

Stora Enso

16

Suzano11, 25, 26

BP

31

ENI

11

Shell

11, 31, 32

Total

31

SectorFinancial andprofessional services

Healthcare

Information
technology anddigital services

EnergyRestaurants

Forestry, timber andnon-timber forest
products

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

39

Contributors
World Economic Forum
Justin Adams
Co-Director, Platform for Accelerating
Nature-Based Solutions
Gill Cassar
Head, 1t.org
Betty Cremmins
Lead, 1t.org North America
Ian Gunderson
Project Specialist, 1t.org
Nicole Schwab
Co-Director, Platform for Accelerating
Nature-Based Solutions

Lead authors
Jean-Charles Guinchard

Associate Partner, Dalberg Advisors, Paris
James Mwangi
Executive Director, Dalberg Group; Partner, Dalberg
Advisors, Johannesburg
Emily Tench
Associate Consultant, Dalberg Advisors, Geneva
Devang Vussonji
Partner, Dalberg Advisors, Dar es Salaam
Wijnand de Wit
Partner, Dalberg Advisors, Geneva

Investing in Forests: The Business Case40

Endnotes

1.

World Economic Forum, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, 2020,
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

2.

Seymour and Busch, Why Forests? Why Now?: The Science, Economics, and Politics of Tropical Forests and Climate
Change, 2016.

3.

Harris et al., Global Maps of Twenty-First Century Forest Carbon Fluxes, 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558020-00976-6 (link as of 12/4/21).

4.

BCG, The Staggering Value of Forests – and How to Save Them, 2020, https://www.bcg.com/en-ch/publications/2020/
the-staggering-value-of-forests-and-how-to-save-them (link as of 12/4/21).

5.

World Economic Forum, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, 2020,
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

6.

Ibid.

7.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), IPBES Workshop on
Biodiversity and Pandemics, 2020.

8.

FAO, The State of the World’s Forests, 2020, http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/ (link as of 12/4/21).

9.

WWF, Deforestation Fronts: Drivers and Responses in a Changing World, 2021, https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/
downloads/deforestation_fronts___drivers_and_responses_in_a_changing_world___full_report_1.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

10.

Seymour and Busch, Why Forests? Why Now?: The Science, Economics, and Politics of Tropical Forests and Climate
Change, 2016.

11.

IUCN, Deforestation and Forest Degradation, 2021, https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-andforest-degradation (link as of 12/4/21).

12.

CDP, The Collective Effort to End Deforestation: A Pathway for Companies to Raise Their Ambition, 2021,
https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/global-forests-report-2020 (link as of 12/4/21).

13.

Deutz et al., Financing Nature: Closing the Global Biodiversity Financing Gap, 2021, The Paulson Institute,
The Nature Conservancy, and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, https://www.paulsoninstitute.org/keyinitiatives/financing-nature-report/ (link as of 12/4/21).

14.

Ibid.

15.

UNEP-WCMC, FFI and ELP, Funding Ecosystem Restoration in Europe: A Summary of Funding Trends andRecommendations to Inform Practitioners, Policymakers and Funders, 2020, https://restorationfunders.com/fundingecosystem-restoration-in-europe.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

16.

World Economic Forum, The Future of Nature and Business, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/new-natureeconomy-report-ii-the-future-of-nature-and-business (link as of 12/4/21).

17.

Ibid.

18.

Batini et al., Building Back Better: How Big Are Green Spending Multipliers?, 2021.

19.

Schwab and Vanham, Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet, 2021.

20.

World Economic Forum, Nature and Net Zero, 2021, https://www.weforum.org/reports/consultation-nature-and-net-zero(link as of 12/4/21).

21.

Ibid.

22.

Harris et al., Global Maps of Twenty-First Century Forest Carbon Fluxes, 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558020-00976-6 (link as of 12/4/21).

23.

Bastin et al., The Global Tree Restoration Potential, 2019, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76 (link asof 12/4/21).

24.

World Economic Forum, Nature and Net Zero, 2021, https://www.weforum.org/reports/consultation-nature-and-net-zero(link as of 12/4/21).

25.

Ibid.

26.

FAO, The State of the World’s Forests, 2020, http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/ (link as of 12/4/21).

27.

Strand et al., Spatially Explicit Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services, 2018.

28.

UNESCO, The Sundarbans, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/798/ (link as of 12/4/21).
Investing in Forests: The Business Case

41

29.

IUCN, Types of FLR, n.d., https://infoflr.org/index.php/what-flr/types-flr (link as of 12/4/21).

30.

UNFCCC, Accelerating Net Zero, 2020, https://newclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/NewClimate_Accelerating_
Net_Zero_Sept2020.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

31.

The Bonn Challenge, Progress, https://www.bonnchallenge.org/progress (link as of 12/4/21).

32.

BCG, The Staggering Value of Forests – and How to Save Them, 2020, https://www.bcg.com/en-ch/publications/2020/
the-staggering-value-of-forests-and-how-to-save-them (link as of 12/4/21).

33.

World Economic Forum, Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy, 2020,
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Nature_Economy_Report_2020.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

34.

Dasgupta et al., The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/
government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/962785/The_Economics_of_Biodiversity_The_Dasgupta_
Review_Full_Report.pdf (link as of 14/4/21).

35.

Menendez et al., The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves, 2020, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-02061136-6 (link as of 12/4/21).

36.

Capgemini Research Institute, How Sustainability Is Fundamentally Changing Consumer Preferences, 2020
https://www.capgemini.com/research/how-sustainability-is-fundamentally-changing-consumer-preferences/ (link as of 12/4/21).

37.

tentree, About Us, https://www.tentree.com/pages/about (link as of 12/4/21).

38.

SBTi, Science Based Targets Initiative Annual Progress Report 2020, 2021, https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/
files/SBTiProgressReport2020.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

39.

SBTi, Net-Zero Criteria Draft for Public Consultation, 2021, https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/Net-ZeroCriteria-Draft-for-Public-Consultation-v1-0.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

40.

Zalando, Zalando Plans to Reduce its Own CO2 Emissions by 80 Percent by 2025, 2020, https://corporate.zalando.com/
en/newsroom/news-stories/zalando-plans-reduce-own-carbon-emissions-80-percent-2025 (link as of 12/4/21).

41.

Climate Action 100+, Who’s Involved, https://www.climateaction100.org/ (link as of 12/4/21).

42.

ASN Bank, Net Positive Effect on Biodiversity in 2030, 2020, https://www.asnbank.nl/over-asn-bank/duurzaamheid/
biodiversiteit/biodiversity-in-2030.html (link as of 12/4/21).

43.

Storebrand, Deforestation Policy, 2019, https://www.storebrand.no/en/asset-management/sustainable-investments/
exclusions/deforestation-policy (link as of 12/4/21).

44.

Bank of America, ESG Part II: A Deeper Dive, 2017.

45.

Clark et al., From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder: How Sustainability Can Drive Financial Outperformance, 2014.

46.

Ibid.

47.

Ibid.

48.

CREO, An Investment Primer for Reforestation, 2020.

49.

Ibid.

50.

Dean, C., 100% Sustainable Timber Markets: The Economic and Business Case, 2016, WWF, http://assets.wwf.org.uk/
downloads/wwf_business_and_economic_case_report_1.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

51.

The Nature Conservancy, Lands of Opportunity, 2017, https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/
TNC_NCS_LandsofOpportunity_2017.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

52.

McDonald’s, McDonald’s Reveals New Flagship Restaurant in Chicago, https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/en-us/
our-stories/article/ourstories.new_flagship.html (link as of 12/4/21).

53.

Tallwood Institute, Cross-Laminated Timber Info Sheet, 2019, http://tallwoodinstitute.org/sites/twi/files/Info%20Sheets_
Final_191210.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

54.

GlobalABC, Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, 2020, https://globalabc.org/resources/
publications/2020-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction (link as of 12/4/21).

55.

Tallwood Institute, Cross-Laminated Timber Info Sheet, 2019, http://tallwoodinstitute.org/sites/twi/files/Info%20Sheets_
Final_191210.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

56.

Harvard University, The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function, https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/
research-highlight/impact-green-buildings-cognitive-function (link as of 12/4/21).

57.

WSL and EFI, How to Balance Forestry and Biodiversity Conservation. A View Across Europe, 2020,
https://www.dora.lib4ri.ch/wsl/islandora/object/wsl%3A25581/datastream/PDF/Krumm-2020-How_to_balance_forestry_
and-%28published_version%29.pdf (link as of 13/4/21).

58.

World Economic Forum, The Future of Nature and Business. 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/new-natureeconomy-report-ii-the-future-of-nature-and-business (link as of 12/4/21).

59.

Business and Sustainable Development Commission, Valuing the SDG Prize, 2017.

60.

World Resources Institute, Roots of Prosperity, 2017, https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/roots-of-prosperity_0.pdf(link as of 12/4/21).

61.

Ibid.
Investing in Forests: The Business Case

42

62.

CGS, CGS 2020 Retail and Fashion Sustainability Survey, 2020, https://www.cgsinc.com/en/resources/survey-revealssustainability-shopping-preferences (link as of 12/4/21).

63.

Capgemini Research Institute, How Sustainability Is Fundamentally Changing Consumer Preferences, 2020,
https://www.capgemini.com/research/how-sustainability-is-fundamentally-changing-consumer-preferences/ (link as of 12/4/21).

64.

Founding partners in the coalition include Citibank, Santander UK, IHS Markit, bunq, Saks Fifth Avenue, L.L. Bean, NewYork Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Transport for London and American Airlines.

65.

Deloitte, Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2020, 2020, https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/
millennialsurvey.html (link as of 12/4/21).

66.

HP, HP Inc. and the Arbor Day Foundation Team Up to Plant One Million Trees by the End of 2020, 2020,
https://press.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2020/hp-arbor-day-foundation-team-up-to-plant-one-million-trees-2020.html(link as of 12/4/21).

67.

AztraZeneca, AZ Forests: Our Reforestation Initiative, https://www.astrazeneca.com/sustainability/environmentalprotection/greenhouse-gas-reduction/az-forest.html (link as of 12/4/21).

68.

Nestlé, Nestlé Invests CHF 2.5 Million and Partners with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to Protect and Restore the Cavally
Forest Reserve, 2020, https://www.nestle.com/media/news/nestle-partners-government-cote-ivoire-protect-cavally(link as of 12/4/21).

69.

Walmart, Walmart Continues to Prioritize Forest Conservation by Stepping Up Efforts Toward 2025, 2020
https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/12/22/walmart-continues-to-prioritize-forest-conservation-by-steppingup-efforts-toward-2025 (link as of 12/4/21).

70.

FAO, State of the World’s Forests, 2018, http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en (link as of 13/4/21).

71.

Tauli-Corpuz, V., et al., Cornered by Protected Areas, 2018, https://rightsandresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/
Cornered-by-PAs-Brief_RRI_June-2018.pdf (link as of 13/4/21).

72.

Salesforce, Forest Restoration Leader Florent Kaiser on Restoring the Planet, 2020, https://www.salesforce.com/news/
stories/forest-restoration-leader-florent-kaiser-on-restoring-the-planet/ (link as of 12/4/21).

73.

Bank of America, Arbor Day Foundation and Bank of America Drive Local Climate Resiliency Initiatives, 2020
https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/press-releases/corporate-philanthropy/arbor-day-foundation-and-bank-americadrive-local-climate (link as of 12/4/21).

74.

CDP, The Collective Effort to End Deforestation: A Pathway for Companies to Raise Their Ambition, 2021,
https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/global-forests-report-2020 (link as of 12/4/21).

75.

Ibid.

76.

Iberostar, The Unstoppable Wave of Change, https://www.iberostar.com/en/inspiration-guide/responsible-tourism/
unstoppable-wave-change-new-iberostar-environmental-project/ (link as of 12/4/21).

77.

Waldron et al., Agroforestry Can Enhance Food Security While Meeting Other Sustainable Development Goals, 2017,https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1940082917720667 (link as of 13/4/21).

78.

Nestlé, Reforestation: More Than Planting Trees, https://www.nestle.com/stories/reforestation-project-one-tree-plantedbiodiversity-climate-change (link as of 12/4/21).

79.

World Economic Forum, The Future of Nature and Business. 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/new-natureeconomy-report-ii-the-future-of-nature-and-business (link as of 12/4/21).

80.

WWF, Profitability and Sustainability in Responsible Forestry, 2015, https://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/profitabilityand-sustainability-in-responsible-forestry (link as of 13/4/21).

81.

Natura & Co, Natura Ekos Ucuuba, https://www.naturabrasil.fr/en-us/about-us/our-lines/ekos/ekos-ucuuba (link as of
12/4/21).

82.

Guayakí, Global Regeneration, https://guayaki.com/global-regeneration/ (link as of 12/4/21).

83.

Bunge Loders Croklaan, Bunge Loders Croklaan Announces the Official Opening of Its First Shea Butter Processing Plant
in Ghana, 2020, https://www.bunge.com/news/bunge-loders-croklaan-announces-official-opening-its-first-shea-butterprocessing-plant-ghana (link as of 12/4/21).

84.

Nestlé, How Many People Work at Nestle, https://www.nestle.com/ask-nestle/our-company/answers/how-many-peoplework-at-nestle (link as of 12/4/21).

85.

Nestlé, Towards a Forest Positive Future, 2020, https://www.nestle.com/stories/deforestation-learnings-forest-footprintpilot-palm-oil-supply-chain (link as of 12/4/21).

86.

Suzano, Infographic Suzano, https://storage.googleapis.com/stateless-site-suzano-com-br/2020/05/9e7ffb1finfographicsuzano.pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

87.

Microsoft, One Year Later: The Path to Carbon Negative – A Progress Report on Our Climate ‘Moonshot’, 2021
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2021/01/28/one-year-later-the-path-to-carbon-negative-a-progress-report-on-ourclimate-moonshot/ (link as of 12/4/21).

88.

Apple, Conserving Mangroves, a Lifeline for the World, https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/04/conservingmangroves-a-lifeline-for-the-world/ (link as of 13/4/21).

89.

Pachama, About Us, https://pachama.com/about (link as of 12/4/21).
Investing in Forests: The Business Case

43

90.

Dalberg analysis of Ecosia financial reports.

91.

Planet Labs, Universal Access to Satellite Monitoring Paves the Way to Protect the World’s Tropical Forests,
https://www.planet.com/pulse/universal-access-to-satellite-monitoring-paves-the-way-to-protect-the-worlds-tropicalforests/ (link as of 13/4/21).

92.

Bank of America, Our Commitment to Environmental Sustainability, https://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/what-guidesus/environmental-sustainability.html (link as of 12/4/21).

93.

Goldman Sachs, The Conservation Fund, https://www.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/progress/the-conservation-fund/(link as of 12/4/21).

94.

JP Morgan Chase & Co., JPMorgan Chase Targets More Than $2.5 Trillion over 10 Years to Advance Climate Actionand Sustainable Development, 2021, https://www.jpmorganchase.com/ir/news/2021/jpmorgan-chase-sustainabledevelopment (link as of 23/4/21).

95.

JP Morgan Chase & Co., Reforestation Initiative to Plant an Estimated 650,000 Trees, 2021, https://www.jpmorgan.com/
news/reforestation-initiative-to-plant-an-estimated-650000-trees (link as of 23/4/21).

96.

Aspiration Bank, What Is Plant Your Change?, 2021, https://funds.aspiration.com/faq/Impact%3EWhat-is-Plant-YourChange- (link as of 12/4/21).

97.

Salesforce, Discover How Salesforce Is Taking Action with Nature-Based Solutions, https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/
content/learn/v/modules/trees-to-combat-climate-change/discover-how-salesforce-is-taking-action-with-nature-basedsolutions (link as of 12/4/21).

98.

Rabobank, Interim Report 2020, 2020, https://www.rabobank.com/en/images/02-interim-report-2020.pdf (link as of
12/4/21).

99.

Mastercard, Annual Report 2020, 2020, https://investor.mastercard.com/overview/default.aspx (link as of 12/4/21).

100.

Total, Developing Activities that Contribute to Society’s Carbon Neutrality, https://www.total.com/group/commitment/
climate-change/carbon-neutrality (link as of 12/4/21).

101.

Shell, Who We Are, https://www.shell.com/about-us/who-we-are.html (link as of 12/4/21).

102.

Shell, Our Climate Target: FAQs, https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/what-is-shells-netcarbon-footprint-ambition/faq.html (link as of 12/4/21).

103.

Shell, Shell Accelerates Drive for Net-Zero Emissions with Customer-First Strategy, 2021 https://www.shell.com/media/
news-and-media-releases/2021/shell-accelerates-drive-for-net-zero-emissions-with-customer-first-strategy.html(link as of 12/4/21).

104.

Shell, Shell Invests in Nature as Part of Broad Drive to Tackle CO2 Emissions, 2019, https://www.shell.com/media/newsand-media-releases/2019/shell-invests-in-nature-to-tackle-co2-emissions.html (link as of 12/4/21).

105.

World Economic Forum, Nature and Net Zero, 2021, https://www.weforum.org/reports/consultation-nature-and-net-zero(link as of 12/4/21).

106.

Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, Final Report, 2021, https://www.iif.com/Portals/1/Files/TSVCM_Report.
pdf (link as of 12/4/21).

107.

Jenkins and Schapp, Forest Ecosystem Services, 2018.

108.

Global Tree Assessment 2021, 2021 (final results are forthcoming), https://www.Globaltreeassessment.org/progress/(link as of 13/4/21).

109.

Sacco et al., Ten Golden Rules for Reforestation to Optimize Carbon Sequestration, Biodiversity Recovery and Livelihood
Benefits, 2021, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gcb.15498 (link as of 13/4/21).

110.

Ibid.

111.

Ibid.

Investing in Forests: The Business Case

44

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