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We believe good stewardship is good business

As a steward of timberland and agricultural investments, we're committed to conducting our business activities in a manner that recognizes the need to maintain the long-term health and productivity of our properties, preserve and enhance the quality of our environment and local communities, and empower our people.

Timberland sustainability report

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Agriculture sustainability report

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Our stewardship approach focuses on three core thematic considerations—climate, nature, and people

Our integrated property management capabilities aim to reduce costs, enhance alignment of interests, and ensure that commitment to sustainability carries through from investment strategy to on-the-ground execution.

Climate

We take climate change seriously, as it presents material risks—and opportunities—for our managed forests and farms. Our goal is to mitigate the risks to the extent we’re able, adapt to the risks that cannot be fully mitigated, and realize as many of the opportunities as we can.

  • Nearly 1.8 million metric tons of C02 removed annually

    over the past five years through our managed forests and farms

  • Nearly 2.6 million metric tons of C02 stored

    in wood products harvested in 2022

  • Nearly 6.1 million metric tons of forest carbon credits sold

    by our timberland management group since 1985

  • More than 1.3 billion trees planted

    by our timberland management group since 1985


Source: Manulife Investment Management. All data is as of December 31, 2022. Please refer to the 2022 timberland and agriculture sustainable investing reports for details.

Nature

We view nature as our business. The forests and farms we manage are ecosystems that provide immense value and vitality to communities and economies. We believe it's our job to keep them healthy and productive over the longterm by protecting sensitive lands and biodiversity, adhering to strict water and land management policies and best practices, and supporting forest growth.

  • 100%

    of our managed global forests1 and U.S. farmland2 is certified sustainable

  • 98%

    of our farms follow regenerative soil health practices3

  • 479,000

    cumulative acres of our managed sensitive forest lands are protected4

  • 295

    acres of pollinator habitat managed across our California orchards

  • Nearly 21%

    of our timberland has a conservation designation5

  • 100%

    our investments account for water risk and opportunity

Important disclosures

Source: Manulife Investment Management. All data is as of December 31, 2022. Please refer to the 2022 timberland and agriculture sustainable investing reports for details. 

1 100% of our forests were certified under either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and some of our forests in Australia and New Zealand carry dual FSC and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) accreditation. As a condition of certification, forests must have management plans, including consideration of biodiversity. 2 Certification is by Leading Harvest and is based on an annual assessment of the conformation to its Farmland Management Standard. Most current data is shown. 3 Includes farms employing one or more of the following practices: conservation tillage or no till, cover vegetation/crop; crop residues, crop rotation, intercropping, nonproductive vegetation, rotational grazing, and soil amendment. 4 Sensitive lands are defined as lands whose attributes may lend themselves to management for purposes not related to timber production. They typically are deemed critical habitat for sensitive or endangered species or are lands with high scenic, historical, cultural, or recreational values. We actively seek out and work closely with public agencies and environmental groups to consummate conservation transactions and initiatives that will protect these lands. As a fiduciary, we cannot simply give away our investors’ lands, but we work diligently to conclude transactions that preserve the lands while providing a fair return to our clients. Protection may include moving the land into public or conservation group ownership or placing permanent restrictions on how it can be managed, such as through a conservation easement. 5 Forests with conservation designation include land bearing one or more of the following designations: old growth forest, forest ecosystem of high conservation value, high-conservation value forest, conservation easements, areas with restricted management due to presence of threatened and endangered species, areas of culture or historical significance, and buffer areas such as stream management zones and riparian management zones. Year-on-year change may be affected by asset acquisitions and/or dispositions in addition to new conservation designations on the existing land base.

People

We value our people, employees, and contractors and work to ensure that we're offering not only safe and healthy working environments but the tools, training, and support they need to thrive. We're also committed to supporting and strengthening the local and indigenous communities in which we operate, providing rural employment opportunities and public use of our land and support for local causes.

  • 5.0 million

    acres of land are open for public access6

  • 29%

    women staff representation

  • 14%

    racially and ethnically diverse individuals staff represention7

  • 60th

    percentile employee engagement survey score (with 89% of employees responding)8

Source: Manulife Investment Management. All data is as of December 31, 2022. Please refer to the 2022 timberland and agriculture sustainable investing reports for details. 

6 Access of any type, including by permit, exclusive recreation lease, or open public access. 7 Includes North America staff only. Based on employee self-identification. 8 Combined result for timberland and agriculture in 2022 Gallup employee engagement survey.

Collaboration

As a steward of natural resources, we're committed to collaboration as a cornerstone of our business, and we seek to establish mutually beneficial relationships with organizations that can complement our strengths.

Source: Manulife Investment Management. All data is as of December 31, 2022. All logos are registered trademarks of the respective organizations/firms represented. Manulife Investment Management is prompting each of the ESG actions shown through becoming a member of the respective programs or a partner with the organizations on these endeavors.

Transparency

Our commitment to transparency includes reporting on the outcomes of our sustainable investing efforts. We support the adoption of industry-wide standards for disclosure, including the framework outlined by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Looking ahead

Even as we practice good stewardship, we remain focused on continuous improvement. By setting targets for what concrete steps we can take across our global forests and farms, we aim to ensure that the lands we manage today are productive for generations to come.

  • Increase postive and reduce negative impact on biodiversity

    by setting and disclosing science-based targets

  • Expand Leading Harvest farmland certification

    building on certification in Australia and expanding into Canada and Chile

  • Actively target increased diversity in our workforce

    We recognize the importance—culturally, ethically, competitively, and financially—of diversity and inclusion.

Stewardship in action

As a steward and manager of some of the world’s largest forestry and agricultural properties, we’ve been dedicated to enhancing and improving the communities and environments in which we work and live since our founding in 1985.

Explore our stories from the field