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Sustainability

We believe that forest and farmland assets—when well managed—directly contribute to UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Download our latest sustainability report


Our sustainability priorities


The foundation of our business is sustainably managing our clients' land. We call our approach "sustainability and responsible investing (SRI)" and through it we integrate environmental, social, and governance factors through all aspects of our business. Specifically, we focus on five priorities: climate stability, ecosystem resiliency, watershed protection, people empowerment, and community prosperity.

Climate stability

We seek to limit the impacts of climate change by responsibly using and managing land, creating carbon sequestration opportunities with our forests and farms, and mitigating climate change through investing in renewables and energy efficiency.

  • 2.7 million tons of CO2 removed by our forests annually (5-year trailing average) 
  • ~293,000 tons of CO2 removed annually by our farms (5-year trailing average)
  • 6.1 million carbon credits sold

Ecosystem resiliency 

Healthy ecosystems provide immense value to the vitality of communities and economies. To ensure this for generations to come, we operate in a way that responsibly manages land and protects sensitive lands and biodiversity. 

  • 100% of our forests globally are certified sustainable 
  • 100% of our managed U.S. farmland is certified sustainable1
  • 479,000 acres of sensitive forest lands protected
  • 295 acres of pollinator habitats across our California orchards alone

Watershed protection 

Protecting and improving watersheds are vital for the ecosystems and communities that depend on them. We do this by adhering to strict water and land management policies and best practices, and supporting forest growth.

  • 20,050 miles of stream protected within our forests
  • ~600 miles of stream protected within our farms
  • 100% of permanent crop farms using water-saving technologies

People empowerment 

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.

  • 25.1 total agriculture injury frequency rate2
  • 4.6 total forestry injury frequency rate3
  • 20.8 agriculture lost time injury frequency rate2
  • 2.9 forestry lost time injury frequency rate3

Community prosperity

We're committed to supporting and strengthening the local and indigenous communities where we operate. We provide employment opportunities, public use of our land, engage with nongovernmental organizations, and support local causes as part of our community stewardship. By investing in land for agricultural and timber production, we help maintain vibrant rural communities.

  • US$649,000 company and employee charitable contributions
  • 5.4 million acres of forest land open to unrestricted public access 
  • 71,000 acres of farmland open to unrestricted public access

All data as of December 31, 2020, unless otherwise noted.

1 As of December 31, 2021. Includes both third-party leased and directly operated assets. Oliver Williams, global head of agriculture, is current chair of the board of directors for Leading Harvest.

For more information on Leading Harvest, please see https://www.leadingharvest.org/about. For more information, please see our 2020 timber and agriculture sustainability report.

2 Calculated as agriculture enterprise-wide weighted averages per one million hours worked, including approximately 300 agriculture employees and approximately 1,400 full-time equivalent contractors.

3 Calculated as timberland enterprise-wide weighted averages per one million hours worked, including all approximately 700 timberland employees and approximately 4,500 full-time equivalent contractors.

Certifications and memberships

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.

Timeline

  1. Sustainable Forestry Initiative¹

    100% of our managed forests are third-party certified sustainable. We manage over 3.4 million acres of forests in the United States and Canada that are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

  2. Forest Stewardship Council²

    100% of our managed forests are third-party certified sustainable. We manage nearly 2.2 million acres of forests in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Chile that are certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

  3. Global Impact Investing Network³

    We're a member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and contributed to its 2019 report “Scaling Impact Investment in Forestry.”

  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology⁴

    We sponsor the Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The joint program is a team of natural and social scientists studying interactions among human and Earth systems to provide a sound foundation of scientific knowledge.

  5. PRI⁵

    We are a signatory to the UN PRI.

  6. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)⁶

    We are a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and an active contributor to its Forest Solutions Group working with programs on Scaling Positive Agriculture and Nature Action.

  7. Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification⁷

    100% of our managed forests are third party certified sustainable. We manage nearly 1.9 million acres of forests in Australia and New Zealand that are certified under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

  8. Leading Harvest⁸

    100% of our managed farmlands in the United States are certified sustainable by the Leading Harvest Farmland Management Standard. We partnered with our colleagues throughout the agriculture sector to establish Leading Harvest, a non-profit that will own and manage a third-party, performance-based, industry-wide sustainability standard for agriculture.

All logos are registered trademarks of the respective organizations/firms represented. All data as of December 31, 2021, unless otherwise noted.

1 Sustainable Forestry Initiative. 2 Forest Stewardship Council. 3 Global Impact Investing Network. 4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 5 PRI. 6 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). 7 Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. 8 Leading Harvest.


Our annual sustainability and responsible investing report includes our performance against metrics aligned with each of our five key SRI priorities as well as other external standards such as the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and third-party certification systems. 

Reports and important documents

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Timberland

Fully integrated, global, sustainable timberland investment solutions across a variety of tree species, age classes, and geographies

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Agriculture

Customized, vertically integrated, sustainable agricultural investment solutions across a variety of commodity types and geographies

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