Commitments in Action: Corporate Tells for Financing Forest Conservation & Restoration, 2020
A COLLABORATIVE ANALYSIS BASED UPON SUPPLY CHANGE DATA
By Philip Rothrock, Laura Weatherer View PublicationThe production of commodities like palm oil, soy, and cattle drives the permanent conversion of 5 million hectares each year, which has serious global consequences for the climate, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and forest communities. Companies that produce, trade, and source these commodities are increasingly aware of the forest risk associated with these business activities, and are increasingly engaged in addressing these supply chain impacts. Reforesting degraded land, conserving existing forests, and protecting biodiversity will be essential to compensate for past destruction. Many companies that directly or indirectly contributed to deforestation may be interested in financing restoration or conservation projects to compensate for past damage and reduce reputational risks.
In Commitments in Action: Corporate Tells for Financing Forest Conservation & Restoration, 2020, Forest Trends’ Supply Change initiative will discuss a unique approach of analyzing companies’ exposure, risk, ambition, and actions to address commodity-driven deforestation as a method of identifying appetite for financing forest restoration and conservation. Supply Change also identifies key trends in the companies that experience higher levels of risk or demonstrate greater ambition or action. Some trends identified include more companies that are targeted by external groups making commitments, publicly traded companies being generally more engaged in deforestation issues, and the connection between companies demonstrating ambition and taking action to address deforestation.
Webinar
Financing Forests with Commodity and Carbon Markets
February 18, 2020, 9:00 am ET
Forest Trends’ Philip Rothrock discusses Supply Change’s findings on companies with the greatest potential interest in financing conservation and restoration. Co-panelist Michal Zrust, founder of Lestari Capital, discusses mechanisms for connecting potential investor companies with high-quality conservation and restoration projects. Stephen Donofrio, Director of Supply Change and Ecosystem Marketplace, shares implications of the latest State of the Voluntary Carbon Report.
Webinar slides are available here.
Additional Resources
Financing Emissions Reductions for the Future – State of Voluntary Carbon Markets Report, 2019