Geneva, 16 November 2022 – Today, 15 leading companies from the Forest Solutions Group (FSG) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) release Phase I of the Forest Sector Nature-Positive Roadmap. Developed with input from 30 external stakeholders, this is the first of several sectoral nature-positive roadmaps from WBCSD. The roadmaps provide guidance for business action to reverse nature loss, set science-based nature-related targets and consistently disclose progress using quantifiable metrics.
Nature is under greater threat today than at any other time in human history. The prevailing linear take-make-waste economy depends on the continuous and increasing extraction of natural resources. To break out of this model, the forest sector is well-positioned to grow the circular bioeconomy as an alternative, based on wood from sustainable working forests as a renewable and recyclable material. Scaling up this model requires collaborative action along the entire value chain, and within the broader operating environment.
Phase I of the roadmap rallies the forest sector behind a shared definition of nature-positive that is grounded in concrete actions to halt and reverse nature loss along the full life cycle of forest products. While high-impact actions lie across the full value chain, restorative and regenerative actions are located upstream in the working forests from which forest products originate. These represent the forest sector’s greatest opportunity to contribute to net gains for nature.
Members of the Forest Solutions Group commit to working collaboratively to drive progress on the actions outlined in roadmap. To inspire action, they are sharing illustrative examples of forest companies driving system-level transformation through engagement in thoughtful partnerships in their landscapes and regions of operations.
To prepare forest companies for science-informed nature-related targets and disclosures, the roadmap is closely aligned with emerging frameworks from the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and aims to contribute to their development. Phase I of the roadmap serves as a bedrock for subsequent guidance and tools to be developed in the coming years to support forest companies in implementing nature-positive strategies.
Andrew King, Group CEO of Mondi and Co-chair of the Forest Solutions Group, highlighted that "as stewards of sustainable working forests, companies in the forest sector play a fundamental role in securing the abundance, diversity and resilience of species and ecosystems through their actions across the full value chain."
Christoph Schumacher, Global Head of Real Assets for Private Markets at Manulife Investment Management, added that "financial institutions represent a critical partner to engage with the forest sector on the journey to a nature-positive economy, as they advocate for credible nature-related disclosures and directing financial investments toward activities that protect and restore nature."
Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, WBCSD, highlighted that "as the first of several nature-positive roadmaps from WBCSD, this forest sector guidance and commitment to collective action demonstrates the importance of business leadership, accountability and transparency in delivering on climate and nature goals. Nature-positive roadmaps are also in development for the agriculture, built environment and energy sectors. Together with the forest sector, these value chains have the greatest impact on nature loss, which is why business leadership and action like what is demonstrated here, is so critical to enable nature positive systems."
Learn more about FSG’s work on nature-positive here.
FSG members: BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, CMPC, Drax Group, Enviva, Manulife Investment Management Timberland and Agriculture, International Paper Company, Mondi Group, New Forests, Philip Morris International, Sappi Limited, Smurfit Kappa Group, Stora Enso, Sumitomo Forestry, The Navigator Company, Weyerhaeuser.
