Weyerhaeuser and The Nature Conservancy Announce Joint Effort to Increase Focus on the Power of Forests to Fight Climate Change
Collaboration will highlight and advance the role of climate-smart forestry in mitigating climate change
SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) today announced a multiyear collaboration to further the scientific understanding of how forests and forest products contribute to climate mitigation. The joint effort brings together one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands with one of the world's largest conservation organizations to increase the positive impact of forests in mitigating climate change.
TNC pioneered research quantifying nature's full ability to absorb and store carbon and provide a scalable and readily available opportunity to mitigate climate change. These natural climate solutions can help protect, better manage and restore forests and other ecosystems to reduce or absorb 11 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases per year — up to one-third of what's needed by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Over 1 billion metric tons of that potential could come from improved management of working forests.
"Working forests are one of the most readily available opportunities we have right now for scaling the global response to climate change," says Ara Erickson, vice president of corporate sustainability at Weyerhaeuser. "We're excited to be supporting TNC's important work and look forward to collaborating on science-based initiatives that increase the contributions of forests as natural climate solutions, while also benefitting the environment and the people and communities who rely on these ecosystems."
Over the next several years, Weyerhaeuser and TNC will collaborate on forest research; implement standards and frameworks for greenhouse gas accounting; support the development of improved carbon project methodologies; and help shape strategies that accelerate the adoption of climate-smart forestry practices worldwide, including expansion and refinement of existing forest-based climate solutions, and developing new programs that incorporate a wider set of potential practices, geographies and forest types.
"Businesses are essential stakeholders in creating a sustainable future, and collaborations such as the one we're embarking on with Weyerhaeuser provide important opportunities to expand research possibilities and accelerate scientific progress," says Peter Ellis, global director of NCS science at TNC. "We're optimistic that our work together can be an example of how different stakeholders can come together to identify best practices, harness evolving solutions and protect the natural world."
Both Weyerhaeuser and TNC believe climate commitments are necessary to mobilize support for natural climate solutions, and that market approaches can help unlock the potential of managed forests to sequester more carbon, boost private-sector investment in rural communities and help keep forests as forests. To that end, a shared goal is to grow support for a trusted and transparent carbon market, built around high-quality greenhouse gas accounting and high-integrity forest carbon projects using rigorous, scientific methodologies. The collaboration additionally seeks to elevate research into climate-smart forestry practices and the carbon storage potential of forests with diverse tree species.
Learn more about how both organizations are prioritizing nature-based climate solutions:
- Download TNC's NCS Handbook, a technical guide for assessing nature-based climate mitigation opportunities.
- Read about Weyerhaeuser's sustainability strategy and climate solutions ambitions.
ABOUT THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 77 countries and territories (41 by direct conservation impact and 36 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.
ABOUT WEYERHAEUSER
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900 and today owns or controls approximately 10.5 million acres of timberlands in the U.S., as well as 14 million acres of timberlands managed under long-term licenses in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has been a global leader in sustainability for more than a century and manages 100 percent of its timberlands on a fully sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized sustainable forestry standards. Weyerhaeuser is also one of the largest manufacturers of wood products in North America and operates additional business lines around real estate, climate solutions, energy and natural resources, among others. In 2023, the company generated $7.7 billion in net sales and employed approximately 9,300 people who serve customers worldwide. Operated as a real estate investment trust, Weyerhaeuser's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WY. Learn more at www.weyerhaeuser.com.
For more information contact:
Analysts – Andy Taylor, 206-539-3907
Media – Nancy Thompson, 919-861-0342
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