Forests Forward
Helping companies harness the power of forests to achieve ambitious sustainability, social impact, and business goals
© Luis Barreto / WWF-UK
Forests Forward is a signature WWF corporate program that engages companies around the world to help them reduce their forest footprint—and take other actions in priority forest landscapes—in support of nature, climate, and people.
The program is a one-stop shop for companies looking to implement best practices around nature-based solutions to deliver on their sustainability and business goals. Drawing on our deep expertise in forests, science, and climate, WWF works with companies on both long-term and near-term strategies and collaborations that have lasting benefits—not only for the companies but also for local communities.
“Forests Forward gives companies opportunities to scale up action on forests in ways that benefit their business goals and confront some of the biggest threats facing our planet today. And these actions are not one-off solutions. They drive real, lasting change that makes a tangible difference in people’s lives and the health of our natural world.”
—Kerry Cesareo, Senior Vice President, Forests
Interactive map
Forests Forward includes a global interactive platform where WWF and companies can highlight the actions they're taking in specific landscapes. Visit the platform for more information on our partners and projects.
© explorer.land
What WWF is Doing
© WWF-US/Franck Gazzola
Invest in landscapes
For companies seeking to improve the health of forests, contribute to climate solutions, and enhance community well-being, WWF provides unique opportunities to support rigorous nature-based solutions in critically important forest landscapes to deliver these benefits around the world. One such opportunity is WWF’s Nature-Based Solutions Origination Platform (NbS-OP), an innovative vehicle to drive impact at scale for people, climate, and nature in priority tropical forests. Several Forests Forward partners are currently helping advance the NbS-OP across five initial landscapes in Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru, and Viet Nam. Supporting a variety of conservation approaches—including forest protection, improved management, and restoration—the NbS-OP offers quantifiable impacts.
© James Morgan / WWF
Source responsibly
WWF helps strengthen businesses’ understanding of their forest impacts and take action in alignment with global frameworks and standards, including the Science Based Targets initiative; Science Based Targets Network; Accountability Framework initiative; and Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). WWF also supports businesses in improving their sourcing policies for forest-related commodities. This benefits both forests and supply chain resilience.
© WWF / Dado Galdieri
Improve forest management
WWF works with businesses that manage forests in some of the world’s most vital forest landscapes to implement strategies that boost those forests’ ability to sustain biodiversity, benefit global climate, and support local communities.
Our partners
26 forward-thinking companies and organizations from 9 sectors
Through the performance-based program, WWF supports partners to drive ambition and impact beyond their own footprint and invest in the world’s most vital forest landscapes.
WWF helps companies to act
Forests Forward works with companies across many sectors with dependencies on many different forests, as well as with forest managers within them. We place a particular emphasis on many of the most valuable, yet vulnerable, forest ecosystems on the planet and mobilize private sector finance towards them. The program prioritizes action and investment to transform the economics and governance of forests and land use within global frontiers of deforestation and forest degradation.
To discuss whether a Forests Forward partnership might be right for your company, please contact us at [email protected]. Visit the global Forests Forward website for more resources.
Publications
Shop smart
Look for the Forest Stewardship Council® logo to make sure your purchases come from responsibly managed forests.
© N.C. Turner / WWF-Canon