Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Responsible Investment
• Sustainable Landscape Investment
• Climate Change Mitigation
• Biodiversity Conservation
• Shared Prosperity
• Governance
• Risk Management

Environmental Achievements

• Portfolio company Forico Pty Ltd achieved FSC Forest Management certification, becoming the largest FSC-certified plantation estate in Tasmania.
• Forico re-opened the Surrey Hills Chip Mill after significant upgrades.
• Timberlink Australia issued its first corporate sustainability report.
• New Forests convened its first collaborative landscape-planning meeting in the Green Triangle region of Australia.
• Plantations managed by New Forests stored 90 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).
• Forest Carbon Partners (FCP) projects included nearly 110,000 hectares and delivered more than 700,000 tonnes of California Compliance Offsets.

Social Achievements

• New Forests introduced a new Responsible Investment Policy.
• Received a top-tier rating in the 2015 PRI assessment.
• Increased engagement with the PRI and its network of signatories.
• Participated in the PRI working group for the development of the LP Responsible Investment DDQ.
• Implemented an Environmental & Social Agreement (ESA) as part of a shareholder agreement in Indonesia.
• 99% compliance rating across all funds in 2015 SEMS audits.
• More than 2,300 individuals were involved in forestry and conservation operations in 2015.
• Community engagement program through TAFF’s investment in Hijauan Bengkoka Plantations (HBP) and Acacia Forest Industries (AFI) in Sabah, Malaysia.

Governance Achievements

• Adopted a new Responsible Investment Policy.
• Implemented a company-wide Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) policy.
• Commissioned an expert review of corruption and bribery risk exposure.
• Implemented an Anti-Corruption Policy.
• Rolled out a “whistleblowing” program.
• Conducted a corruption risk assessment.
• Implemented a software-based gifts and entertainment register.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Supply chain disruptions (implied)
• Complex social environments in Southeast Asia (unclear land tenure, unresolved land claims, illegal land appropriation, poor communication, corruption, concerns about resource availability).
• Climate change impacts (implied)
• Corruption and bribery risks.

Mitigation Strategies

• Developed long-term contracts with suppliers (implied)
• Detailed legal review of land tenure and stakeholder consultation (Southeast Asia)
• ESG Manager in TAFF team, working with local non-profits and consultants.
• Implementation of a new company-wide WHS policy and supporting framework.
• Expert review of corruption and bribery risk exposure.
• Implementation of an Anti-Corruption Policy, whistleblowing program, and gifts and entertainment register.
• Third-party firms for background checks in high-risk areas.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Focus on certified, plantation timber products (NFTP)
• Long-term contracts with suppliers (implied)

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products (implied)
• Carbon markets

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI (implied), PRI

Certifications: FSC, PEFC

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Biodiversity
• Sustainable Development
• Shared Prosperity
• Responsible Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved climate neutrality for the business by purchasing 1,588 carbon offsets.
• 754,124 hectares of certified forests under management.
• 7.5 million tonnes of carbon offsets generated.
• 2 million tonnes CO2e net carbon sequestration in production forests over 2020.

Social Achievements

• Formalisation of new leave policies, including paid volunteer days and gender-neutral parental leave.
• Development of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policy.
• Establishment of a Flexible Working Policy.
• Over 6,020 people employed in investment operations in 2020.
• Increased percentage of female employees by 8 percentage points since 2018.

Governance Achievements

• Updated Responsible Investment Policy aligning with best practices (OECD, UN GPBHR, UN Global Compact, ILO conventions, VGGT, WBCSD).
• Revised Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS) Policy Manual.
• Implemented ESG-related KPIs linked to employee remuneration.
• Achieved ISO 45001 certification for Acacia Forest Industries (Malaysia).

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic impacting stakeholder engagement and community development initiatives.
• Supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19.
• Uncertified harvest in a US Carbon Forestry asset due to property manager withdrawing from certification.

Mitigation Strategies

• Adapting leadership training to include managing uncertainty.
• Providing a one-time wellness subsidy for employees.
• Introducing special leave exemptions for employees.
• Supporting property managers and portfolio companies to manage supply chain and community impacts of COVID-19.
• Property manager working to reinstate certification for the US Carbon Forestry asset.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Supplier questionnaires on modern slavery launched.

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code and Third-party Due Diligence Procedure under development.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events (flooding)

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, market shifts

Opportunities

• Carbon sequestration, development of climate-smart forestry investments

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (implied), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Certifications: B Corp, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), ISO 45001 (for Acacia Forest Industries)

Third-party Assurance: None (data quality assured internally)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 8
• SDG 12
• SDG 13
• SDG 15

Investments contribute to decent work, responsible consumption, climate action, and life on land.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Mass timber products (CLT and GLT)

Awards & Recognition

• TCFD Report of the Year award (2020)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Shared Prosperity
• Nature-based Solutions
• Circular Bioeconomy

Environmental Achievements

• 202,000,000+ tCO2e carbon stored in production forests
• 884,000+ tCO2e carbon removals from production forests
• 2,950,500+ carbon offsets generated
• 97% of timber production certified
• 440 hectares of restoration land reforested
• 3,345 ha of wetlands restored/protected
• 5,050 km of streams or rivers restored/protected

Social Achievements

• 5,680 individuals employed with workers’ rights requirements
• 23% female employees at assets
• 12% female leaders at assets
• 280+ participants engaged in outgrower, smallholder and livelihood planting programs
• 33% reduction in lost time incidents
• 50% reduction in medical treatment incidents
• Launched Major Guidance Program supporting tertiary education in Laos

Governance Achievements

• Developed Value Creation Story
• Developed impact targets for AFIP
• Developed Human Rights Policy
• Achieved a B Corp score of 102
• PRI Score: 88%

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Increased operational costs associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• Decreased demand for wood products
• Wildfire impacts and ongoing fire-risk monitoring
• Softening of lumber markets
• Increasing criticism of ESG in the US
• Softening market for sawn timber
• Lack of a national policy regarding voluntary carbon-market credit trading
• Historic under-investment in plantation forestry and related infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Limited collaboration across the sector in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Nascent formal timber processing industry in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Social and environmental pressures on natural forest in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Diverse, complicated and historic land tenure issues in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Limited availability of high carbon natural forestland assets for acquisition in the US

Mitigation Strategies

• Optimise land use among softwood and hardwood timber plantations, agriculture, reforestation and conservation
• Focus on continuous improvement in genetics, management and cost structure
• Apply state-of-the-art asset management information systems and spatial analytics
• Active development of timber markets in the region, especially in Asia
• Rigorous ESG approach including certification of asset management to international standards
• Advocate for national climate policies aligned with the Paris Agreement and for high-integrity carbon markets
• Proprietary geospatial analysis used to identify high carbon value forests to optimise timber and carbon management and returns
• Climate change mitigation through sustainable forest management
• Forests managed for operational improvements, optimising total return from timber and carbon income and inventory growth
• Implement additional conservation finance strategies such as conservation easements
• Apply rigorous ESG approach using certification of asset management to international standards
• Advocate for continuous improvement and integration of latest climate science into California’s forest carbon protocol
• Ensure efficient use of landscapes
• Support regional economies and job growth
• Support positive conservation outcomes
• Supply long-term capital to forest and natural capital investments
• Support consolidation, collaboration and restructuring to increase organisational growth and impact outcomes
• Implement a mixed landscape approach to create synergies across plantations, infrastructure and nature-based solutions
• Apply a rigorous approach to scaling positive impact with quantified targets
• Ensure international best practice across investments to mitigate land tenure and social problems

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Codes of conduct for direct and contract workers at assets under management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Floods
• Extreme temperatures
• High winds
• Storm severity
• Bushfire severity
• Reduced soil moisture
• Changes to the water table
• Biodiversity loss
• Changing seasonal patterns
• Increased droughts
• Changes in humidity

Transition Risks

• Increased stringency on water-related policies
• Carbon policies and regulations
• Technology changes
• Market changes

Opportunities

• Increased droughts
• Increased average temperatures
• Changes to soil moisture
• Drying seasonal conditions
• Water conservation policies
• Carbon policies and regulations
• Technology changes
• Market changes
• Climate mitigation

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, TCFD, UNGC, Integrated Reporting, TNFD (pilot)

Certifications: B Corp, FSC®, PEFC

Third-party Assurance: Third-party assurance for Australia and New Zealand assets' emissions and removals data (limited assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 5
• SDG 8
• SDG 12
• SDG 13
• SDG 15

See Annex I

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Biodegradable packaging materials
• Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
• Glue-laminated timber (GLT)
• Wood-plastic composite

Awards & Recognition

• Global Farmland Deal of the Year 2021 (Lawson Grains)
• SHIELDPLUS® won the business category of Productive Idea (Jujo Thermal)