Businesses Seeing the Forest for the Trees

With increasing focus on climate change and the U.N. COP15 negotiations taking place at end of 2009, the World’s forests are receiving more and more attention.

In a recent study by EcoSecurities, Conservation International, the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance, and ClimateBiz, there is growing eco awareness and altering perceptions in the business world about forestry projects. The study explains how these factors and others are driving corporate decisions to buy forestry carbon offsets.

Some of the notable findings of the Forest Carbon Offsetting Survey 2009 include:

•    Avoided deforestation (91%) and reforestation with native tree species (89%) were rated the most desirable forestry projects in regards to carbon results;
•    South America (78%), Africa (71%) and South East Asia (69%) are the three most desirable regions to purchase forest carbon credits;
•    The Clean Development Mechanism (64%) and the Voluntary Carbon Standard (60%) were rated as the most desirable standards when purchasing forest carbon offsets;
•    Participants highlighted the most important factor when purchasing forest offsets are carbon standards (91%), closely followed by experience and credibility (87%);
•    In comparison to Europe (19%), companies in North America (50%) are much more willing to pay up front for carbon credits that will be generated more than five years from now;
•    Benefits to local communities (89%) and the global scale of the problem (77%) have been the key motivational factors for adopting offsets from forest carbon projects.

At Taiga Company, we are very interested in all sustainability concepts involving the world’s forest. A recent post discussed the origins of the Taiga Company name. The taiga is a biome that stretches across a large portion of Canada, Europe, and Asia. It makes up 27 percent of the world's total forest and occupies 11 percent of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the plant.

The continuous renewal that the taiga offers our planet has shaped our company vision to drive similar change in the business world. Our sustainability consulting offers businesses solutions and sustainability concepts that have direct and indirect impacts on the forests of the world.