Financing the Future: a guide for forest landscape businesses

Over the last two decades, landscape governance approaches have emerged as a leading practical solution to striking the right balance between global ambitions for forest protection and food security. However, many initiatives focusing on improving conservation, food security and livelihoods have been unable to mobilise enough upfront investment to finance the transformation of unsustainable ‘business as usual’ models into commercially viable and forest-friendly businesses.

To address this problem, it is vital to establish a shared understanding and align the expectations of landscape models and actors (producers, communities and companies) with the investor and finance community. This short guide provides practical advice to forest landscape businesses seeking to either attract initial investments or scale operations across landscapes. Drawing from the views of sustainable investment experts, it highlights key investor criteria that businesses must consider before they approach investors and financial institutions.