The ForestLink

?? UK Carbon Forestry Join me today, as I speak with Craig Mackenzie, Senior Lecturer in Nature Finance at the University of Edinburgh Business School. Over Craig’s career, he has worked in asset management and transitioned to academia. He also advises several public bodies on land use change. From this vantage point, Craig shares his insights on the opportunities and challenges for scaling #UKCarbonForestry, where a significant roadblock is attracting institutional investors. We talk about the massive reduction in forest cover that has taken place in the UK over the centuries, and how the UK’s commitment to #NetZero is starting to reverse this trend. Despite the primarily well-received #WoodlandCarbonCode (WCC) and other favourable policies, the economics still don’t stack up to meet investors’ return requirements when compared to the risks associated with carbon credit price volatility and the long horizons for generating credits in the UK. But things are changing. Tune in to find out what’s in the pipeline for the sector that may make UK carbon forestry much more attractive to institutional investors, and support turning the UK’s net-zero ambitions into reality. ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactinvesting #forestinvestment #timberlandinvestment #timberland #naturefinance #naturalcapital #Nature #InvestInNature #CarbonForestry

?? Nature Finance on the Rise ?? Tune in to today's episode, where I speak with Jessica Smith, Head of Nature at United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), about the growing private sector interest in #NatureFinance. She highlights the need for a common taxonomy to reduce investment hesitancy and notes that #Timberland remains a key #NaturePositive option for #InstitutionalInvestors. We explore the investment gap between the Global North and South, strategies for stakeholder engagement in areas with unclear tenure rights, and how to phase capital across a project’s life cycle. Jessica concludes with a strong call to eliminate #Deforestation from investment portfolios. ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactinvesting #ForestInvestment #TimberlandInvestment #naturalcapital #Nature #InvestInNature

?? Timber as a Climate Solution ?? Check out this week's episode where I speak with Paul Brannen, Director of Public Affairs at the The European Confederation of Woodworking Industries & EUROPEAN ORGANISATION OF THE SAWMILL INDUSTRY AND author of a recent book,?Timber! How wood can save the world from climate breakdown. In our conversation, Paul digs into the details surrounding the #climate benefit of building with #wood. We compare the #carbonfootprint of wood, concrete and steel (did you know that concrete is responsible for 8% of global emissions)! We talk about the cost savings of using wood in the #BuiltEnvironment. We explain that despite the financial and climate merits, and supportive regulatory environment – the building sector still suffers from convention and doing things the way they’ve always been done. We discuss the importance of #circularity in using wood in construction, and finally – how investors can support the whole value chain for enhanced climate and financial benefit. ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactinvesting #forestinvestment #timberlandinvestment #timberland #greenbuilding #builtenvironment #circulareconomy #timber #masstimber

?? Ethical Business in Forest Investment ?? Join me today, as I speak with Eugene Kraamwinkel, CEO of two agribusinesses in Cambodia – Phu Rieng Kratie Ampivath and Dau Tu Saigon Binh Phuoc. In our conversation, Eugene highlights the importance of having a strong Code of Conduct to ensure a long-term #sustainable #forestbusiness, especially in #EmergingMarkets and in industries such as #forestry and #agriculture. We discuss how investors can evaluate #BusinessIntegrity risks and red flags to watch for. Eugene shares a roadmap on how forest business owners can make stepwise improvements toward changing the culture around moral conduct. Eugene also emphasizes that ethical business is not just about committing to #transparency, and #AntiCorruption – it is also about environmental and social ethics. ?? "While forestry investments can be profitable, they requires patience, deep commitment to responsible management, and investors need to prioritize opportunities that will align with strong environmental, social, and governance principles to ensure business operates transparently, ethically, and sustainably." ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactforestry #impactinvesting #forestinvestment #timberlandinvestment #timberland #businessethics #businessintegrity #ethicalbusiness #codeofconduct #ESG

?? Due Diligence in Forestry Nature-based Solutions ?? Today, I’m joined by Jamie Micah Lawrence, Co-Founder of Xilva. In this conversation, Jamie describes the project evaluation process taken by Xilva, which evaluates #NatureBasedSolutions projects for numerous capital providers, from investors to corporates and donors. Jamie describes the six categories of Xilva’s #DueDiligence Framework and explains the reasoning for interconnecting these in an assessment. After evaluating more than 300 projects, he explains the three common mistakes project developers make when preparing for funding. He also stresses the merits of the promising projects that cross the Xilva desk. We talk more about the importance of a good strategy on the side of the capital provider to prevent a project from stalling due to misalignment in internal processes. ?? "Assets like #forestry are perhaps one of society’s most undervalued assets. We will value those forests for specific assets like timber when they are?providing so much more. They could be in a #water catchment area, they provide the very air that we breathe, #biodiversity, #culture, it is a given." ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactinvesting #forestinvestment #naturefinance #naturalcapital #Nature #InvestInNature #NBS #NaturalClimateSolutions

?? An Institutional Investor’s Approach to Forest Investment??? Today I’m joined by Jasper Renk, Senior Investment Manager for Illiquid Assets in Natural Capital at MEAG. In this advice-packed episode, Jasper shares MEAG’s 15-year experience in investing in #Timberland. He explains the most critical determining factors in deciding MEAG’s #forestinvestment jurisdictions and describes how the organization is well equipped to address #climaterisk, sitting on 140 years of #climatedata. Jasper gives some thoughts on how to house your forest investment and sheds some light on why forest investment isn’t the most suitable to debt instruments. We talk about #sustainability and how it is a core tenant of how they invest, emphasizing that prioritizing sustainability reduces risk and secures return expectations. ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #timberlandinvestment #naturalcapital #InstitutionalInvestment #Investment

?? Impact Forestry in the Pacific Northwest ?? Join me today, as I speak with Bettina von Hagen, CEO, Co-Founder and Board Chair of EFM. In this conversation we talk about the unique characteristics of Pacific Northwest forests that make this region rich in opportunity for both #commercialtimber and an array of #impact benefits. Bettina goes deep explaining some of the complex #ecosystem functions at play in these forests, from migrating salmon to mycorrhizal fungi and the commercial attractiveness of most Pacific Northwest tree species. She describes the 5 R's that EFM applies to their forest management: Rotations, Retention, Reserves, Restoration and Relationships, discusses the #carbonmarket opportunity, provides tips and tricks for making impact forestry operational, and how important active #wildfire management strategies are in some of the regions EFM operates. ?? Link to the episode ?? is in the comments below ?? #ForestInvestPodcast #impactforestry #impactinvesting #forestinvestment #timberlandinvestment #timberland?#PacificNorthwest