Posted on June, 24 2025

WWF’s new Forests Forward Impact Report reveals that 26 leading companies from 9 sectors are improving forest management or going beyond responsible sourcing to support forest conservation projects across the world.

Through Forests Forward, WWF’s flagship programme for corporate leadership on forests, WWF projects financed by private sector partners are helping conserve a total forest area of 1.3 million hectares in some of the world’s most vital and vulnerable landscapes through actions such as forest restoration. 

An additional 2.7 million hectares of tropical forest are benefiting from improved forest management measures implemented by forest management companies participating in Forests Forward. Responsible sourcing efforts being implemented by partner companies are also translating to additional hectares of improved forest management across the globe.

Companies participating in WWF’s Forests Forward programme have considerable reliance on forests and the services and products they provide. They act upon voluntary ambitions related to:

• Responsible sourcing: ‘Market’ participants – including leading retailers, manufacturers and other downstream users, such as IKEA, SIG and Sofidel – are delivering against responsible sourcing policies focused on avoiding deforestation and other unwanted sources, engaging suppliers and disclosing progress. 
   
• Improving forest management: ‘Forest management’ participants – including timber producers in the Congo Basin, Interholco and CBG, and agroforestry organizations in the Peruvian Amazon, including Candela – are improving the management of tropical forest areas, 75% of which are Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)-certified.
   
• Financing forest landscapes: 10 participant companies are supporting more than 20 landscape-level conservation projects with WWF, focusing on critical forests in the tropics. For example, HP Inc., IKEA, SIG and Sylvamo are providing significant financial contributions to (among others): forest landscape restoration in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest; working with local communities to restore forest corridors for jaguars in Mexico, Brazil and Peru; and helping advance responsible forest management with communities in Viet Nam. Their funding of these forest landscape projects extends and complements voluntary action on responsible sourcing through the programme.

Dr Kirsten Schuijt, Director General, WWF International, said: “WWF’s Forests Forward partners are demonstrating that the private sector can be a force for nature. Together, our innovative approaches and positive impacts are proving that conserving forests is not only beneficial for the planet, but also a wise and sustainable business strategy.”

Scaling action
WWF’s Forests Forward programme, launched in 2021, builds upon WWF’s 30 years of collaboration and innovation with the private sector to develop market-based solutions to forest loss and degradation. The programme now has 26 participants, with three new companies (Epson, WEPA and Nike) joining in early 2025 – representing an expansion into Asia, Germany and other forest-risk commodities (including natural rubber), respectively.

Alarming new data show record-breaking tropical forest loss in 2024, threatening the vital ecosystem services forests provide and worsening the impact of climate change. Since more than half of the world’s forests are managed wholly or partly for production, the private sector has a critical role in turning the tide on forest loss.

With less than five years until 2030 deadlines for global goals on nature and climate, the Forests Forward Impact Report emphasises how critical the private sector is in filling finance gaps. It also outlines how forests play an outsized role in addressing the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and economic equality.

This comes at a time of increasing awareness that risks to nature are risks to business and a recognition that companies that set science-based targets and help nature thrive help their businesses thrive. The report includes a call to action to other companies and sectors to step up their action for nature.

Tim Cronin, WWF Forests Forward Global Lead, said: “Forests Forward aims to accelerate the transition from an economy built on the extraction, exploitation and degradation of forests to one thriving on conservation, stewardship and regeneration. If we’re to halt and reverse forest loss once and for all, there needs to be a fundamental business imperative to do so. Our forward-thinking partners are helping us demonstrate and inspire others that this is possible. But we need more companies to follow, and we need the right policies and incentives to enhance the economic and business case.”

Quotes from Forests Forward partner companies:

Ulf Johansson, Global Raw Material Manager, Inter IKEA, said: “The whole forest industry must step up and share the wood they are using, where it is from and how the forest is managed. It is fundamental for sustainable development. For IKEA, it doesn’t end with our own supply chain. We are proud to have supported WWF's conservation efforts over 23 years in a total of 22 countries, including long-term support for critical landscape programmes and enabling innovative new approaches to improve forest management.”

Alex Michalko, Director of Climate & Responsible Sourcing, HP Inc., said: “Through our partnership with WWF, we are focused on large-scale, long-term landscape conservation that involves investing in innovative, durable forest conservation solutions and building partnerships with environmental organizations that prioritize the needs of local communities and ecosystems.”

Samuel Sigrist, CEO, SIG Group, said: “We turned to WWF to work with us to go beyond our achievement of sourcing 100% of our paperboard responsibly as FSC-certified. Our partnership with WWF has unlocked huge potential for SIG to create positive impacts for at-risk forests and local communities globally. We want to show others how they can contribute best to supporting thriving forests by investing in landscapes.”

Gastón Vizcarra, President, Candela Perú, said: “When we strengthen local value chains, we don’t just conserve forests, we also create decent jobs, empower Indigenous and rural communities, and bring real value to biodiversity. Investing in inclusive and sustainable projects is a commitment to a future where conservation and development go hand in hand.”

Tom van Loon, Head of Sustainability, Interholco AG, said: “We want to be leaders in responsible forest management in the Congo Basin, and, together with WWF, we are demonstrating that healthy standing forests can help biodiversity and people thrive.”

Riccardo Balducci, Group Sustainability Director, Sofidel, said: “Sofidel’s collaboration with WWF on forest-related issues has now spanned over 15 years. During this time, we developed our forest sourcing policy, guided by the principles of the Accountability Framework Initiative, and we have progressively strengthened our commitments to maintain high levels of certified fiber — commitments that are rigorously monitored and consistently upheld. We consider Forest Forward a valuable tool that has helped us implement more effective policies for conserving forest biodiversity and protecting the rights of communities living in the areas where our raw materials originate.”

Contact
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